Dominican leader to skip event for new Constitution

Santo Domingo.-. National Assembly president Cristina Lizardo and Administrative minister Jose Ramon Peralta on Wednesday separately announced that president Danilo Medina will skip the proclamation of the amended Constitution on Saturday.

The announcement is surprising given the importance of the legislation Medina himself pushed through Congress and which some even attribute to payoffs for lawmakers.

Peralta spoke when reporters asked him to comment after leaving Medina’s office. "The president is not going to Congress."

For Lizardo Medina "is neither coming nor has to come" to proclamation in Congress on Saturday.

Several local media today reported Medina’s attendance to the proclamation of the amended Constitution, while the Presidency’s Press Dept. has yet to deny or confirm Medina presence in Congress.