Abinader exhausted the 18 months he promised to define if he will run for reelection

Santo Domingo, DR
Since the beginning of his administration, officials and leaders of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) began to speculate about the possible reelection of President Luis Abinader, with less than a year at the head of the Executive Branch.

At the beginning of 2021, several members of the governmental train were already talking about the possibility that the ruling party would make a change in its status, which at that time stipulated “no consecutive reelection” and thus leave the way open to Abinader in case he decided to run again.

For these reasons, in April that year, the President described these pronouncements as “irresponsible and foolish.”

“It is irresponsible for this country to be talking about reelection, with only eight months that we have been in government, with a crisis and a pandemic,” said Abinader at that time, who sent a statement to the leadership of the PRM.

On September 23, 2021, he was interviewed in the program “El Sol de la Mañana” and indicated that he would not “be hypocritical” on the subject and cherished the idea that there is the possibility of aspiring to a second consecutive term.

On that occasion, Abinader indicated the possibility of consecutive reelection but that he would analyze that issue in “a year and a half” in 18 months. He had to first work on his work schedule and focus on that.

Since September 2021, 19 months have passed, so the President’s timeframe for defining this issue was exceeded. Even so, the movements and implications in favor of the President’s reelection continue to become more and more favorable.

In December 2021, the executive board of the PRM approved a reform to its internal statutes, including a modification to Article 101, which prevented the consecutive repostulation.

Speaking to Listin Diario on that date, Eddy Olivares explained that what was done was an adaptation of the by-laws, including the transformation of that article to bring it in line with the provisions of Article 124 of the Constitution, which states that the “President of the Republic may opt for a second consecutive term and may never run for the same position or the Vice Presidency of the Republic.

From that moment on, the governmental train has focused on the promotion of the political figure of the President. Even last September, the President of the PRM and current Administrative Minister of the Presidency exclaimed to journalists at the National Palace that if the national elections were held, Luis Abinader would win “without major setbacks” under the present circumstances in the first round. The ruling party would double the votes obtained by the second-place candidate.

Meanwhile, in every activity the Head of State carries out, the banners promoting the “four plus” have continued to increase with time.

The last thing said by the ruling party about the reelection was expressed by Paliza himself before the February 27 accountability when he said that this is an “issue for the future.”

The pre-campaign is scheduled to begin Sunday, July 2.

It is a fact that former President Leonel Fernandez will head the option of the People’s Force party. But on the other hand, the Dominican Liberation Party already chose Abel Martinez in an open consultation in October 2022.

In this scenario, the definition of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party is expected.