The executive director of the civic watchdog group Participación Ciudadana, Carlos Pimentel is asking the Central Electoral Board (JCE) to investigate the statements made by the president of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Temístocles Montás to determine whether it is true that the government party has a system that enables it to know who a person votes for. Pimentel said the statement is grave and requires and investigation.
“The vote is secret and must remain secret. Temistocles Montás needs to explain what mechanisms the PLD has to identify the voters and be able to establish if this is breaking the secrecy of the vote,” he said. The PLD president’s statements that his party has a platform that allows them to know what happens in each polling station on voting day have generated an avalanche of criticism.
Journalist Altagracia Salazar remarked on the topic that the PLD has the intelligence to determine the likelihood of who a person will vote for and if that person has voted. Not for whom the person actually votes for. Salazar says the statements by Montás are misleading and are being made to intimidate the millions of persons that depend on government jobs, government procurement and welfare to vote for the ruling party candidates.
Follow the story in Spanish:
El Caribe
Diario Libre
YouTube – Huchi Lora
19 February 2020