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Bhatia asks for more civilian participation in PDP

By on January 23, 2017

SAN JUAN — Former Senate President Eduardo Bhatia called for the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) to open its doors so citizens take control of the party in light of its restructuring and the selection of its next president.

“I want to make it clear that this can’t continue being a party of political leaders, this is a party in which the people must take control. Any reorganization to come must be tied to an enormous mobilization and a huge activation of something quite simple: the citizen,” declared Bhatia during a session recess.

Sen. Eduardo Bhatia (Lymaris Suárez/CB)

Sen. Eduardo Bhatia (Lymaris Suárez/CB)

The now PDP Senate minority leader maintained that people must realize the importance of participating in political parties.

“This issue of…always being the same club, the same group that takes control of power is bad. My contribution to this, to whomever will be the PDP president, is to see this from another perspective. Not just how we will restructure, but how we can give more to the people.

“Let’s energize people, let’s inspire people to understand and participate for the first time in decades and to feel comfortable participating in political parties. I want this to be a civilian crusade, of citizens, of people who begin to see their role as citizens, and I think that is how the PDP would gain strength,” he added.

When asked if he was considering the party’s presidency, he replied that he “won’t aim for the presidency at this time.”

Meanwhile, he insisted that regardless of who is chosen to lead the party, the important thing is it can’t continue as a party “in which [only] the leaders determine and decide the party’s course.”

“It can’t be like this. That is why I made the observation…that whoever becomes the party’s president can’t run for a position in the future because it eliminates the motivation to simply reorganize its political groups within the organization,” Bhatia said. He added that who gets chosen to preside the party is irrelevant, that what matters is the process. “It shouldn’t be a fight, it should be a civil process,” he added.

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