Complaints from several of the centers issuing the new ID and voting cards are on the rise, ranging from delays to the so-called “buscones” (hustlers) who charge applicants for speeding up the process of getting a new cedula. The new document comes into effect this Saturday 10 January 2015, as reported in Diario Libre.
The government has been issuing the new cedulas since April 2014, but around 25% of citizens who need to renew have left the task until the last minute. News reports say people may have to spend a whole day in line due to the surge in demand.
“I went to the office on the Mella Highway (Santo Domingo East) and I was in line from 5am until 2pm and I didn’t even get a ticket,” said one person interviewed by Diario Libre. “There is chaos and hustlers there. I had to leave and come here,” said Esmelin Paredes, who was waiting at the JCE headquarters on Luperon Avenue at 5:30pm.
Gloria Michel, who received her cedula at the National District Board at 6:40pm and had arrived at 6am, said that first she went to a center near her house, in the El Almirante area (SDE), but that “at 5:30am there were no more tickets available for positions in the line.” In the meantime the situation at the center in Plaza Naco was chaotic given the large number of applicants. “Very disorganized,” said Nicole Luciano, who had arrived at 9 am and by 7:15 pm had only reached the initial stage of providing her data. These complaints contrast with the statements from the JCE headquarters, where, when asked, officials said that the process was rapid.
In a Tweet posted yesterday, Wednesday 7 January 2015, JCE president Roberto Rosario said that nearly 60,000 people had turned up for their new cedula on Tuesday 6 January, the first working day of the year.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2015/01/08/i957961_dificultades-largas-filas-bsqueda-nueva-cdula.html