In paid newspaper ads in today’s morning news papers, the Central Election Board (JCE) stressed its willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure that public confidence is created that the year 2000 presidential elections will be organized and conducted in a clean and transparent manner. This includes, says the Board, cooperating with auditing and monitoring by outside experts, whether national or foreign, of all aspects of its work, from the process of issuing new identity cards ("cedulas") to Dominican voters to the actual vote count on election day, May 16, 2000. Since its appointment by the PRD-dominated Senate last August, the new JCE has had its impartiality questioned by the PRSC and ruling PLD. This week new aspersions were cast on its credibility when Migration Director-General Danilo D?az claimed that his department had indications that large numbers of aliens are receiving Dominican (as opposed to resident alien) cedulas from the JCE, and that most of these aliens are Haitian.
