Dominican Republic’s opposition reinforces commitment to form electoral alliance

Several opposition political groups in the Dominican Republic have reiterated their intent to form a coalition for the upcoming general elections, slated for May 19, 2024.

These elections will determine the successor to the current President Luis Abinader of the Moderate Revolutionary Party.

The opposition coalition, “Gran Alianza Nacional por la Renovación Económica y Social” (Ganaremos), has announced plans to identify shared objectives with the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD, center-left) and other political factions in the Caribbean country to present a united front.

With less than a year remaining before the elections, speculations about potential alliances have stirred the political environment of the nation.

Peña Guaba, the son of the late social democrat leader José Francisco Peña Gómez (1937-1998), and the current president of the Social Democratic Institutional Bloc (BIS) attempted to clarify several rumors.

Peña Guaba confirmed that the PLD would not form agreements with political parties allied with the ruling Moderate Revolutionary Party (PRM, center).

He also distinguished the differences between the Coordinadora and Ganaremos coalitions.

While the former aims to challenge the PRM and its allies, Ganaremos intends to back former President Leonel Fernández (1996-2000, 2004-2008 and 2008-2012), the current leader of the leftist Fuerza del Pueblo party.