Salvador Ramos, the president of the Disputes Chamber of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), told the Listin Diario yesterday that the JCE could organize the primaries in which the political parties are to elect their municipal and congressional leaders for a sum of RD$60-70 million, and not the RD$700-million budget that the electoral college had originally requested. Ramos said that such an extravagant budget would only be necessary if an electronic voting system were implemented. If conducted manually, however, the JCE’s organization of the primaries would only cost 10% of the originally proposed budget.
Ramos said: “The Law of Primaries is a sure thing, come rain, thunder or wind”. He said that the only thing that could impede the law’s implementation would be if it were declared to be in violation of the constitution by the Supreme Court or derogated by the Executive Branch.” The new law releases the political parties from having to choose their own candidates in political elections at all levels (municipal, congressional and presidential), transferring this responsibility to the JCE, with the budget to come from the taxpayers.
While the JCE judges support the law’s implementation, they disagree over the rulings needed to put it into effect.