MIGUEL VARGAS CEMENTS HOLD OVER OPPOSITION PRD

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001140 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV CVIS DR SUBJECT: MIGUEL VARGAS CEMENTS HOLD OVER OPPOSITION PRD PARTY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Miguel Vargas Maldonado, President of the opposition Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD),cemented his control over that organization in internal party elections held on 9/27. His candidates for Secretary General (Orlando Jorge Mera) and Secretary of Organzation (Geanilda Vasquez) hold seemingly insurmountable leads with 87 percent of votes counted. In addition, over 90 percent of the half-million-plus PRD members who voted said they approved of his leadership of the party and passed an initiative to change the party's statute so that its leader can also be its candidate in presidential elections, paving the way for Vargas' planned 2012 candidacy. While the main losing candidates for the two secretariat positions are claiming fraud, the GoDR's Central Electoral Board (JCE) has praised the PRD's conduct of the internal vote. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The PRD held a nationwide party election (confusingly called a "Convention") on 9/27, which attracted 508,031 participants. The vote was largely peaceful, with only a handful of violent incidents reported. As of mid-afternoon on 9/29, with slightly more than 87 percent of approximately half a million ballots counted, Vargas's candidate for PRD Secretary General, Orlando Jorge Mera, was holding on to a significant lead of 58 to 39 percent over his main challenger Guido Gomez Mazara, while Vargas' preference for Secretary of Organization, Geanilda Vasquez, held a smaller margin of 46 to 40 percent over leading rival Tony Pena Guaba. Vargas also logged two personal triumphs, obtaining a 96 percent "yes" vote on his leadership of the party, while 93 percent approved an initiative to amend the party statutes to enable the PRD's President to also run for the national presidency, thus allowing Vargas to preserve his direct control over the PRD while campaigning for the country's highest office in 2012. ¶3. (U) Both Gomez and Pena have contested the results, alleging fraud. Gomez announced plans to hold a press conference during the late afternoon of 9/29 to provide proof that he, not Mera, won the race for Secretary General. Vargas, Mera and Vasquez have avoided commenting on the fraud allegations, leaving it to the head of the Convention Organizing Committee, Tomas Hernandez Alberto, to defend the voting and ballot counting processes. In a statement issued on 9/28, the GoDR's Central Electoral Board (JCE),which oversees national, municipal and party elections, congratulated the PRD on its handling of the Convention, stating that, although there were some irregularities, the process was "normal." ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The PRD Convention was an overwhelming triumph for party President Vargas. He received near-unanimous acclamation for his leadership, obtained nearly as much support to do away with an annoying party statute that would have complicated his pursuit of the national presidency, and saw his candidates installed in the party's key organizational positions. Gomez' and Pena's allegations of fraud remain an irritant, but, given the JCE's blessing of the Convention, probably will not alter the result. Reconciling the Gomez and Pena factions may take more time and effort, but should not be a major impediment to achieving party unity as the 2010 congressional and municipal elections near. END COMMENT. LAMBERT