In a statement on Monday, 17 February 2020 after the suspension of the 16 February 2020 municipal election, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) said it would continue to provide assistance as requested.
The IFES explained that on the evening of 15 February 2020, political party representatives informed IFES that some automated voting ballots were missing candidates and, in response, the JCE had begun to make changes to the affected automated voting ballots.
The JCE met with political parties and international observers to provide an explanation and to convey its intent to update individualized content of the voting machines in the presence of political party representatives and international observers, beginning at 5am on Election Day. It soon became apparent, however, that the scope of the problem could not be addressed in time for the 16 February elections to proceed in an orderly fashion.
It is important to note that the pre-electoral assessment that IFES undertook from January 20-29, 2020, at the request of the JCE and the urging of political parties focused on the auditability of the automated voting system and its ability to capture voter intent. IFES’ analysis did not involve an evaluation of the customization of the voting equipment, which includes the loading of the voter list and ballots on individual voting machines.
IFES will continue to accompany the 2020 election cycle and participate in the review as has been requested by the JCE and several political parties. Our focus remains improving the transparency and integrity of the Dominican Republic’s electoral process.
Read more:
IFES
18 February 2020