Relatives of assassinated journalist Orlando Martínez, murdered 17 March 1975, and requested that the Junta Central Electoral, the court in charge of organizing the 2000 presidential election, reject the candidacy of former President Joaquín Balaguer. Balaguer is running for president on the PRSC ticket. The JCE is in the process of approving the candidacies presented by the political parties. Balaguer was President of the Republic at the time of the Martínez murder. In a self-biographical book, he left a blank page indicating that it would be filled with the information on who the murders of Martínez were, upon his death. The relatives have requested that Judge Francisco Ortega order his arrest for hiding evidence and complicity in the case. The case involves several high-ranking military officers of the Balaguer administration. While it has been investigated on several occasions, it is said that political implications have impeded its conclusion. The alleged murder recently was extradited from the US to stand trial. The president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jorge Subero Isa said that 25 years is sufficient time for the case to have been resolved by the judiciary.
