27 February is Independence Day in the Dominican Republic. It is a holiday in the Dominican Republic. It is also the day when the President renders the annual state of accounts on government to the gathering of 32 senators and 190 deputies at the National Congress. The Constitution in Art. 128 establishes that the President will present before Congress, at the opening of the first regular legislative session on 27 February of every year, the reports of the ministries; and will render account of the administration during the previous year.
The diplomatic corps is also traditionally invited. This year, given the pandemic, many of the usual participants will tune in by Zoom.
Local media provides extensive coverage of the event. Color Vision (Channel 9), CDN (Channel 37), and the government-owned RNN (Channel 27) and CERTV (Channel 4) provide extensive coverage of the event with background discussions before and after the speech.
The event formally begins at 9am with the opening of the legislative sessions for the year 2021. Bilateral commissions of senators and deputies will receive Vice President Raquel Peña and then President Luis Abinader when they arrive to the Congress hall. Military honors will be tributed. At 10am, the president of the Senate Eduardo Estrella will give a short speech and open the session for President Abinader to give his annual account on accomplishments and issues since 16 August 2020, with a focus on the past and future plans for the government contemplated to be funded by the government in 2021.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
26 February 2021