The newspaper El Caribe reports that there will be 200 international observers for the 16 May elections in the Dominican Republic. The United States alone will invest RD$69.3 million pesos in support of the elections. According to the article, the United States will send 50 volunteer observers that were trained by the US embassy. Ambassador hans Hertell told reporters that his government has donated US$1.2 million dollars to support the civic group Participacion Ciudadana in there programs of monitoring and training of 6,000 volunteer observers. Hertell spoke at the seminar ?Democracy at the Crossroads: Economic and Political Crisis in the Dominican Republic? that was held the 21 April in Washington, D. C. Hertell also confirmed a US$325,000 dollar donation to the OAS, so that that organization could sent 25 observers to the elections. This is twice the number of observers that the OAS sent to the municipal and congressional elections of 2002. the European Union has indicated that it will only send observers if they are requested by the Dominican government. Along with the OAS and Participacion Ciudadana observers, it is expected that observers from other groups such as the Carter Center and the International Federation of Election Systems (IFES) will accept the invitation that the JCE has sent out.
The political parties have until today to present their lists of invited observers to the JCE. According to sources, the El Caribe said that the PLD has a list of nearly 100 invitees and the PRSC a much shorter list. The PRD has not said how many they would be inviting.