Late last week, the Senate of the Republic finally selected the members of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), the agency that controls presidential, congressional and municipal elections and the civil registry. The five new members will be sworn in on Wednesday, 11 November 2020. These new members are: Román Jaquez Liranzo, who was on the Superior Electoral Tribunal; Dolores Fernandez, Samir Chami Isa, Rafael Vallejo Santelises, and Patricia Lorenzo Paniagua. More than 350 persons were interviewed for these five positions and the five alternate positions.
The reason the posts are so obviously desired is the fact that there are a lot of perks that go with the headaches of organizing the elections. The good part is that they have a lot of office help, as well as vehicles and generous per diems.
Although there are no details on the JCE website, there are some numbers available. From 1 July until 30 September, RD$7.7 million was set aside for personal expenses such as per diems and assorted disbursements.
The out-going members of the JCE, Julio Cesar Castaños Guzman, Rosario Graciano, Roberto Saladin, Henry Mejia and Carmen Imbert Brugal have a total of 69 auxiliary personnel at their service. Most have over a dozen, Carmen Imbert has six. Castaños has 19. The pay is not bad either, with the president of the board getting RD$375,000 a month and the members getting RD$360,000. Other perks are medical insurance and a generous retirement plan.
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Listin Diario
9 November 2020