Political parties come clean when in the opposition, not when in power

Santo Domingo. – Newspaper El Nuevo Diario editor-in-chief Persio Maldonado on Tuesday said the worst time to approve the Law on Political Parties would be now, given the PLD party’s control of Congress and the dispersed opposition, for which consensus would be highly unlikely and would "result in a sort of a tailor-made suit."

He said the political parties advocate for such a law only when in the opposition, but forget its importance when in power. "The first conclusion we can arrive at is that the call for a law on political parties is closely linked to the role of the opposition in the Dominican Republic."

He said there’s no appeal for a partisan achievement or democratic consciousness that allows regulation of an activity that ultimately focuses all of the country’s institutional, economic and social dynamics, as political organizations, especially with the major ones likely to reach power.

"The political parties do not want a straitjacket and much less to render accounts as to how they manage thier internal affairs," Maldonado said.