The National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) says that the Dominican Republic should have election debates. The business organization says that the Dominican Republic is the only country in Latin America with a democratic political system where presidential election debates are not held, despite the ANJE’s best efforts towards organizing such debates since the 1990s.
ANJE points out that presidential election debates are part of the political agenda during campaigns in Latin America, as a result of the hard work carried out by a variety of sectors to install a political culture of election debates. Debates are now obligatory, as established by election laws or codes in countries like Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia.
ANJE adds that since election debates provide an effective space for candidates to present their proposals and help strengthen the country’s democracy, they should take place here, too. The business organization believes that debates would give candidates a neutral, transparent and equal space in order to project their positions, at a time in which it levels the coverage in the media for the candidates contributing to the elimination of the inequality produced in the distribution of resources and power in the media. ANJE’s statement stresses that election debates in other countries have influenced the voting public’s decisions. Debates also offer the voter a chance to compare the candidates’ proposals through a face-to-face meeting that only occurs in a debate format.
