Abel Martínez Backs Presidential Debates With Clear Rules

Abel Martínez, a presidential hopeful for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), has backed efforts to establish electoral debates as a regular part of the political process in the Dominican Republic, arguing that voters should have the opportunity to compare candidates and their proposals before casting their ballots.

Martínez said candidates seeking high public office should be prepared to explain their programs, defend their ideas and respond directly to questions from society. He described debates as a way to give voters more information when evaluating competing political alternatives.

“I believe in debates and in the right of the population to know, compare and evaluate before making a decision at the polls,” Martínez said.

Martínez Calls for Equal Rules

While supporting the idea of institutionalized Dominican presidential debates, Martínez said the encounters should operate under a clear regulatory framework. He called for the same rules to apply to all participants and for debates to take place within the periods established by electoral law.

The former mayor of Santiago de los Caballeros said debates should strengthen democratic institutions rather than become occasional vehicles for political promotion. In his view, their purpose should be to put competing solutions to the country’s problems side by side and allow voters to assess the differences.

“A debate should serve to contrast solutions to the country’s real problems. Democracy benefits when we debate ideas respectfully and present concrete proposals,” he said.

The position places the focus on the role of debates as an electoral information tool. For voters, formal encounters between presidential candidates can provide a single setting in which competing positions can be examined and compared rather than evaluated separately through campaign events and political advertising.

Reference to the 2024 Presidential Debate

Martínez also pointed to his participation in the 2024 presidential campaign as an example of his longstanding support for debates. He recalled that in November 2023, after becoming the PLD’s official presidential candidate, he expressed his willingness to participate in a debate involving all presidential contenders.

In March 2024, he became the first candidate to accept an invitation from the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) to take part in a presidential debate. The organization brought the leading candidates together on the same stage during the campaign.

Martínez described that event as a precedent for Dominican democracy and said at the time that candidates from smaller political parties should also be given the opportunity to participate.

The discussion over formalizing electoral debates comes as Dominican political parties prepare to compete for voters in a system in which presidential elections play a central role in determining the country’s political direction. Establishing common rules would determine how candidates participate and how such encounters fit within the broader electoral calendar.

For Martínez, the central objective is to give the electorate more opportunities to examine the alternatives before making a decision at the ballot box.