Fernández obstructs reelection; puts him in direct collision course with President Medina

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - In Brief 27 May 2015 by Pavel Isa

---

In a televised speech that caused great expectation and got record audience, former President Leonel Fernández objected current attempts to reform the Constitution in order to allow President Danilo Medina to run for reelection based on moral and legal grounds. Fernández recalled that at least in two occasions he was tempted to promote a Constitutional amendment to run for reelection and that he refused based on the principle of defense of the Constitution and of not using his power to benefit himself. He also argued that the Constitution itself set the rules for its modification, and that amending the article that forbids reelection requires that the law that calls the National Assembly to change the Constitution be approved by a qualified majority of both chambers (two thirds of the presents), and that it also requires a referendum. These two conditions are very difficult, although not impossible, to comply with for President Medina. On the one hand, if legislators loyal to Fernández remain as such (or at least, let’s say, half of them), attempts to pass reelection face a significant hurdle. On the other hand, to organize a referendum is similar to organize a national election (but should be done by the same institution, the Electoral Board) but currently it has the additional difficulty that election day is only one year away. In addition to that, the referendum requires an additional law to be approved. Fernández’s followers have threatened to take the issue to the Constitutional Court if either of those conditions is not fulfilled in the process of modifying the Constitution. Recall that Fernández is in control of the courts, and they are likely to decide in his f...