Dominicans protest in the streets for the suspension of municipal elections on February 16. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) suspended the elections, arguing that there were problems in the electronic voting system, which was being used for the first time in the country. All this situation three months before the presidential elections.
The government of the Dominican Republic, to improve the voting system invested in automating the vote, this was going to take advantage of 62% of the electoral roll, the rest would continue to do it manually. In those elections, 3,849 municipal positions were to be elected, however, four hours after the election day began, slightly less than 12% of the voting machines presented problems. The failure caused that not all the political parties appeared on the screens; consequently, the affected parties filed their complaints. The president of the JCE announced to the country that the elections should be suspended since “without a ballot that is not complete, for all parties, that election cannot be made.”
The suspension generated accusations from both sides, both the government and the opposition parties. Luis Abinader, who is the leader of the opposition, called the “suppression of democratic rights” the fact of suspending the elections. The current president Danilo Medina said there was sabotage and accused internal sectors of the electoral body. On the other hand, the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) announced in a press release that, given the extraordinary circumstances, it understands the decision of the JCE to suspend the totality of the elections.
The JCE extended the date of the elections to March 15; at the same time, they invited the OAS Mission to remain in the country to be guarantors and auditors of the same. The OAS considers that it is necessary to: intensify the dialogue between the government and the opposition, guarantee credible, reliable and transparent elections. The election will take place manually throughout the territory.
Meanwhile, there are demonstrations in Santo Domingo promoted by the opposition, demanding the resignation of the members of the JCE. All this happens with an eye on the presidential elections that will be held on May 17; the municipal elections were going to serve as an essay and determine the effectiveness of automation.
Technology has to prevail; we cannot cling to historical mechanisms because of the “fear” that some political factors can manipulate the elections. The automation of the process must be guaranteed and audited; it’s necessary to create citizens’ confidence in the electoral bodies and the modern methods of voting. Automation is not a whim, it is an advantage, an aid to the electoral system; To the extent that governments build trust and make the elections a transparent act, attention will be placed on the candidates’ proposals and not on the voting method.
IQ Latino talked to Elizabeth R. Pavón, who is Dominican and works in the administration of the current government. She told us: “The electoral issue seen in the Dominican Republic reflects several areas, primarily a suspension of the elections never seen in the history of the Dominican Republic, which generated outrage not only at the opposition parties but also at the government parties.
The fact that the opposition wants to reflect that they were the only ones affected is pure and simple proselytizing strategy since we are talking that the government party has the highest electoral positioning.
The parties used electronic voting in the internal elections,
last October 6, which did not have any inconvenience, instead, it generated quick knowledge of the electoral decision as well as avoiding the usual theft of ballot boxes and closing of electoral colleges.
The Dominican Republic undoubtedly has a crucial moment to demonstrate that democracy is maintained. Municipal elections were set just one day after the suspension, and the president of the Republic empowered the OAS with the investigation to avoid disbelief by the citizens.
To vote means positioning our human dignity, demanding respect for our opinion, and claiming by law the fulfillment of our will as citizens.
Our country needs the vote of all Dominicans this March 15.