The Central Electoral Board’s plenary ruled this week that the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) and the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), will receive RD$504 million a year to fund political party activities. The total is the 80% of the RD$1.26 billion the government has budgeted for political party activities in 2021. Electoral law establishes that 80% of the budget should go to the political parties that receive 5% or more of the eligible vote in the elections. The JCE determined that only the PRM and the PLD reached this level of the vote. It is the first time that the majority vote is divided only among two political parties.
People’s (FP), the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Country Alliance (AlPais) and Dominicans for Change (DxC) will receive RD$30 million, for 12% of the economic contribution of the state to political parties.
The remaining 18 small parties are allocated RD$5.6 million each, or RD$100.8 million, which is 8% of the state’s contribution to political parties. The small beneficiary parties are:
Partido Unión Nacional (PUN), Bloque Institucional Social Demócrata (BIS), Partido Cívico Renovador (PCR), Partido Humanista Dominicano (PHD), Movimiento Democrático Alternativo (MODA), Partido Revolucionario Social Demócrata (PRSD), Partido Frente Amplio (F. AMPLIO), Alianza por la Democracia (APD), País Posible (PP), Partido Popular Cristiano (PPC), Partido Quisqueyano Demócrata Cristiano (PQDC), Partido de Acción Liberal (PAL), Unión Demócrata Cristiana (UDC), the Partido Liberal Reformista (PLR), the Fuerza Nacional Progresista (FNP), the Partido Revolucionario Independiente (PRI), the Partido Demócrata Popular (PDP) and the Partido Nacional de Voluntad Ciudadana (PNVC), They will receive 8% of the total amount.
The breakdown is set in regulation 01-2021 issued by the JCE on Wednesday, 27 January 2021. The JCE plenary voted to consider the sum of the valid votes received in the three levels (municipal, legislative and presidential) contested in the elections held in 2020.
When the valid votes of the three elections were added up, the PRM had 5,403,594 votes (44.95%) and the PLD with 3,882,981 votes (32.30%) for majority vote status. A minimum of 5% is required. The Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) had 546,750 votes, for 4.54%, the PRD 430,282 (3.57%) and the PRSC 356,292, (2.96%). Alianza País 165,670, (1.37%) and DxC 125,146 (1.04%).
The electoral law states that the percentages be calculated based on “the valid votes cast in the last election.” The JCE considered the criteria that the legislators referred to the completed electoral process of the three elections. Former President Leonel Fernández, who founded the FP in 2020 to participate in the presidential election after losing the then ruling PLD’s primary, disputes the interpretation of the law by the JCE.
JCE Judge Dolores Altagracia Fernández Sánchez issued a dissenting vote, saying that the last election was the presidential and legislative election carried out on 5 July 2020 and not the sum of the three elections carried out in 2020. If the municipal election held in March 2020 had been excluded, the FP party would have reached majority status because of that party’s alliance with the PRM in the election.
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Central Electoral Board (JCE)
29 January 2021