Jose Thompson, the director of the Center for Electoral Consulting and Promotion (CAPEL), warned the JCE that there are risks associated with organizing the primaries for the various political parties in the next election. Jose Arias, the chief JCE judge, told the press that Thompson and Ricardo Valverde, the Program Officer of the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights, had met with him to discuss the primary process. Arias said that no other nation except Uruguay has done what the Dominican Republic will attempt under the Primaries Law. They pointed out that in Uruguay the experience was not a positive one, in spite of possessing a well-educated citizenry. The foreign advisors are well aware of the fact that the primaries represent a risky undertaking for the JCE and have suggested that the electoral authorities contemplate the process for a while. Arias said that the consultants pointed out that in Uruguay there are not as many political parties as there are in the Dominican Republic, and yet the Uruguayan electoral board encountered many difficulties. Still, Arias told the reporters that in conversations with the parties that are scheduled to start in January, the politicians will have to decide whether or not to involve the JCE in their primaries.
Local press has focused on the fact that many civil registry offices suffer from major deficiencies and their solution is much more important than having the JCE fund the primaries for the political parties.