The government has confirmed it will not release budgeted funds to the Junta Central Electoral, the body in charge of organizing presidential, municipal and congressional elections, until the courts rule on the demand placed by the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano and the Fuerza Nacional Progresista that questions the new members of the JCE board. The new board was unilaterally elected by the Senate, where the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano is majority. Since the 1994 political crisis, the boards of the JCE had been elected by consensus of the political parties and the civic society. The retaining of the funds affects the program for the issuance of birth certificates in 17 public hospitals and other programs and might cause delays in the organization of the presidential elections of the year 2000.
