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Daily News - 26 April 2000
Caribbean free trade treaty could be signed Friday
The Listín Diario reports that the Dominican Republic and Caricom nations will sign the Protocol of a joint free trade agreement on Friday, 28 April at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. President Leonel Fernández will sign for the DR. Secretary General of Caricom, Edwin Carrington will sign representing the member Caribbean nations.
The latest obstacle to the signing of the agreement is objections by Dominican soft drink manufacturers. These state that high tariffs on imported inputs and high local costs affect the capacity of local manufacturers to compete with duty-free Caribbean soft drinks imports.
80% of electoral results in six hours, says JCE
Junta Central Electoral president Ramón Morel Cerda said his organization is ready to release 80% of electoral count by midnight of 16 May. He said the first results (20% of the total) will be available at 10 pm, four hours after the closing of the polls.
Furthermore, Morel Cerda said that the government will spend RD$167 million to celebrate the 16 May presidential election. Of this amount, RD$35 million is being allotted to pay for the more than 60,000 Dominicans that will be employed. Some 11,400 voting stations are being set up nationwide.
The JCE has authorized 30 international organizations to send observers. Another 7,500 Dominicans, primarily Participación Ciudadana volunteers, will have official observer status.
JCE rules on electoral problems
The Junta Central Electoral issued Resolution 03-00 where it addresses how problem cases detected during the March voting verification exercise will be handled.
The JCE resolved that citizens may vote even if the photo on their voting card is different from the one on the voting list, if members of the table determine it is the same person. Likewise, citizens whose photo is missing in the photographic voters list will be allowed to vote. The JCE also ruled to allow citizens to vote with voting cards in bad condition if there is a coincidence in the data with information on the voters list. Other cases contemplated are the allowing of a person to vote once if their name appears twice on the list, and if the voting station indicated on their card is different to the table where they were assigned and where they attended to vote. The JCE reassigned several voters, when stations filled their capacity. The JCE ruled that when the photo of the cedula and that of the voters list do not coincide with the person, they will be requested to cast an "observed" vote.
JCE judges Ramón Manuel Morel Cerda, Luis Arias Núñez, Salvador Ramos, Ana Teresa Pérez, Luis Ramón Cordero, Julio César Castaños Guzmán and Roberto Leonel Rodríguez Estrella signed the document.
PRD wants suspension of PLD spot
The Partido Revolucionario Dominicano would like the Junta Central Electoral to order the suspension of a televised spot funded by the PLD that emphasizes what many consider political blunders made by the PRD candidate, Hipólito Mejía. Because of his frank and open nature, and his candid way of speaking, Mejía has made Dominicans laugh. Now the PLD campaign straticians want to have the last laugh and have made a TV spot by compiling a collection of the less fortunate of Hipólito expressions. The PRD says the video gives a distorted view of their candidate that most polls show will be the next Dominican president.
The JCE president Ramón Morel Cerda says it has not received a formal request from the PRD to suspend the spot. Morel Cerda said that the tone of the campaign is normal in the Caribbean as the campaign comes to a close.
Hipólito Mejía said this type of "dirty campaign" is not new. Political analysts say that videos showing the late José Francisco Peña Gómez at his worst were also used by the PLD in the 1996 presidential campaign.
The campaigns are mainly focused on the undecided voters, since political analysts agree that the PRD has a strong following of unconditional voters. The PRD has enough votes to win the election alone, while the PRSC and the PLD need each other to win the election.
PLD presidential candidate Danilo Medina defended his party's right to show the errors of its opponents.
The spot is being aired on Telemicro, Channel 5. Other channels have refused to run the spot.
Peynado criticizes US handling of Haitian affairs
Vice Presidential candidate of the PRSC, Jacinto Peynado said in New York that the US has established a naval blockade to impede Haitians reaching Florida coasts. He said the US has no contingency plan to help Haiti. Haiti is economically far worse off today than before the US-promoted embargo strangled the economy and a subsequent US invasion contributed little to the situation that was not the restoring to power of Jean Bertrand Aristide, today one of Haiti's most wealthy men. Furthermore, news sources indicate that the drug business is flourishing in Haiti feeding off the present institutional chaos.
He said that if PRSC candidate Joaquín Balaguer is elected President, that government would establish clear rules regarding Haitian migration to the DR.
Asonahores criticizes excess of vendor permits
The executive vice president of Asonahores, Arturo Villanueva criticized the excess of vendor permits issued by the Ministry of Tourism. He criticized this has led to a proliferation of vendors, selling even bathing suits, on East Coast beaches. He says the vendors are generating a large amount of garbage, without there being municipal authorities that may appropriately dispose of this. He said that it is not the job of the hotels to pick up the garbage left by these vendors.
The comments were made after Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez commented that the Ministry had given seven unnamed hotels in the Bavaro area three months to improve their solid waste disposal management.
Punta Cana Group seeks to reduce area slums
The Punta Cana Group is carrying out efforts to put a stop to the creation of slum areas in the Punta Cana resort region. The resort development group, pioneer in the East Coast area, disputed property invasion by families for years. The judiciary finally ruled in their favor, but they agreed to not evict squatters until after the presidential election, conditioning it to the stop of new illegal constructions. The Punta Cana group is offering squatters to move to a development that is but 200 meters away from their present dwelling. There the families would have access to potable water, streets have been laid out, and they would be given property titles. The development also has areas for schools and for the construction of sports installations. Gregorio Abreu, spokesman for the company, emphasized in an interview in El Caribe newspaper that the illegal occupants of the Punta Cana property will be much better off in the new development than in the slum area they have created on Punta Cana land.
Recently, occupants of the disputed Veron area, violently protested along the Punta Cana highway. The dispute took place when a police patrol detecting a new construction was going up and demanded that it be dismantled.
Abreu expects the situation to be resolved as most of the illegal occupants are pleased with the offer, and others that have not yet accepted will do so at the moment of the actual eviction. These say they fear threats from the group that is still holding on to the property.
DR volleyball team still could make it to Olympics
The Dominican volleyball team could still make it to the Sydney Olympic Games. The spokesman for the Volleyball Federation, Cristobal Marte said that the Dominican Republic will be present at the World Volleyball Championship that start 26 June of this year in Tokyo. He did not think the 18-person team will not make the trip because of financial problems. He said they have the support of President Fernández and Minister of Sports Marichal.
The DR team placed third in the Panamerican Volleyball Tournament held in the US. He said they have paid the US$50 per player for the participation in Japan and have made airline and hotel reservations. Twelve teams will vie for posts in the Olympics in that tournament. For the Americas, Canada, Argentina and the DR will compete for a slot. The DR team is ranked 9th in the world, and 5th in the Americas, behind Cuba, Brazil, the US and Canada. If the DR qualifies for the Olympic Games, it would be a first for a volleyball delegation.
Classic music for the entire family
If you have small children, do not miss the 6 pm presentation of the National Symphony Orchestra at the National Theater. Directed by Amaury Sanchez, the presentation is a benefit for the Dominican Down Syndrome Foundation. Also participating are actor Vladimir Baez, tenor Carlos Alfredo Fatule, signer Stephanie Fatule and the Alina Abreu Ballet. Tickets are: RD$300-RD$250. Popular classic pieces by Mozart, Rossini, Ponchielli, Khachaturian, Verdi, Di Capua will be performed, as well as the Jurassic Park and Star Trek scores.
City Basketball Tournament starts tonight
The XXVII National Superior Basketball of the National District starts today at the Palacio de los Deportes. Mauricio Baez (1999 Champions) and San Lazaro will play the opening game at 8 pm. Other Santo Domingo basketball championship contenders are San Carlos, Villa Duarte, Los Prados and Los Mina. Sports writers say that the timing is wrong to start the basketball tournament. Regional tournaments have basketball stars busy, the National Sports Games starts this weekend, and all eyes are on the presidential election slated for 16 May.
The games will be transmitted on by Antena Latina (Channel 7) on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Sundays by RTVD (Channel 4). Games are scheduled for 8 pm on Wednesdays, 7 and 9 pm on Friday, and 4 and 6 pm on Sundays. Tickets are RD$20.
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