The former head of ANJE (the Young Businesspersons Association), Marisol Vicens, says that ever since the sudden approval of the Primaries Law last 15, like other worried citizens, she has been awaiting the inevitable. Now, the Foundation for Law and Democracy, as headed by Julio Castanos, a former JCE judge, has brought a suit before the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of this law. In spite of the fact that the political parties are directly affected by the law, which is a gross invasion into their internal workings, taking away their constitutional rights of free association and assembly as guaranteed by the Constitution in Article 8, Number 7, as well as violating their freedom to organize, granted under Article 104, none of the parties has done anything about it as of yet. Vicens, who called the new legislation “absurd and unconstitutional,” says that, fortunately, the Foundation for Law and Democracy has overcome society’s inertia in asking the Supreme Court to answer its questions on the constitutionality of various contradictions that they have discovered. Self-interest, according to Vicens, spurred the accelerated passage of the legislation that spawned the Primaries Law, which attempts to transfer certain powers to the JCE that many believe them incapable of handling correctly. Many political leaders did not participate in the hearings on the law and they now see it as a tool that could be used in their favor, believing, falsely, that this law will give them opportunities not offered by their party. This just goes to show, says Vicens, that our political leadership has little appreciation for legality.
Vicens continues to say that if legitimacy had been their concern, they would not have approved this law in the first place or they would have been up in arms about unconstitutionality and would have demanded it be repealed. Vicens says the perverse effects of the legislation are many and of a wide spectrum. Among other issues, she foresees its potential to cause the total collapse of the JCE, which has already shown some weaknesses in organizing elections and failure as an impartial judge on election issues, given the political bent of its members. Vicens sees the costs associated to party primaries as completely irrational, probably more than RD$1 billion, which does include the intangible costs to the general population that would be obliged to participate in four separate elections. Far from strengthening the system, she believes it would weaken the parties’ internal structures and the JCE, too ? especially since it would have to take on an unconstitutional workload. The Supreme Court now has the most important task of acting in a timely fashion with respect to this case, needing to ponder the Budget Law of 2005 that would consider huge funding for the JCE to support the absurd primaries. Vicens says that she hopes that the Supreme Court knows how to weigh the need for prompt action in this case and that it does not come to rest with the 175 cases pending their August decision.