The Democratic Party said on Monday it would give U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders a prominent say in writing its platform this year, a gesture that could ease tensions between Sanders’ camp and party leaders, whom Sanders has accused of favoring rival Hillary Clinton.
Sanders has remained steadfast in his long-shot battle with Clinton for the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election, even though he lags her in the delegate count with only a few state contests remaining. The divisiveness among the Democrats stands in contrast to the Republicans, whose party leaders are slowly rallying behind Donald Trump, their presumptive nominee.
Sanders’ tenacity appeared to be paying off. The U.S. senator from Vermont will be allowed to name five members to the 15-member committee that writes the platform at the Democratic National Convention in late July in Philadelphia even if he is not the nominee. Clinton will name six.
The party said in a statement the split was based on the results of state votes to date “in an effort to make this the most representative and inclusive process in history.”
The party’s chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, will name the committee’s final four members.
The Democratic Party’s rules allow the chair to name all 15 members, suggesting the party was trying to accommodate Sanders and his fervent supporters, who still pack rallies by the thousands as he campaigns in California, which will hold its primary on June 7.
Sanders did little to dispel the acrimony between himself and the party, which he joined only last year after more than two decades in Congress as an independent, when he said over the weekend he was endorsing Wasserman Schultz’s Democratic opponent in her Florida congressional district.
On Monday, he repeated some of his criticisms of Clinton, who he has suggested is vulnerable to influence by corporate donors to her campaign, which she denies.
Sanders also told the Associated Press in an interview that if Democratic leaders open the convention’s doors “to working-class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic Party needs, it’s going to be messy.”
“Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic Party should go,” he added.
The Clinton campaign said it was pleased to see Sanders represented, describing the party as a “big tent.”
“Hillary Clinton is committed to continue welcoming different perspectives and ideas,” spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.
Sanders, who has criticized Clinton for being too biased toward Israel, has named a pro-Palestinian activist and a prominent environmentalist among his picks for the committee.
