The Central Electoral Board (JCE) is starting 2025 with a key item on its agenda: the renewal of the national identity and voter ID cards. This follows the successful management of the February and May elections in 2024 and start of the second term of most of the JCE board members. The JCE in the Dominican Republic is responsible for organizing municipal and presidential elections and for the civil registry.
Resolution 49/2024 had set the date for the renovation process for 17 August 2024, but the process was delayed for 2025. Yet the JCE has not confirmed a timeline for the ID process. The intention is to use the process to also purge IDs determined to have been irregularly issued. Janet Camilo, delegate for the PRD political party at the JCE, has mentioned almost 3 million irregular IDs have been flagged.
The electoral authority has not disclosed the cost of the renewal process, nor has it been included in next year’s budget for this purpose, as reported in El Caribe.
In his swearing-in for a second term as president of the JCE, Román Jáquez provided details about the new ID card. He explained that the new document would be made of polycarbonate, with five security layers and an integrated chip. It will also serve as a digital ID with a certified digital signature for those citizens who opt for it.
Jáquez also expressed concerns about the inadequate budget he received in the past electoral cycle. “When we compare the funding provided by the Dominican State to the JCE during previous electoral years, it is clear that the 2024 cycle received the lowest percentage in regards to the national budget,” he lamented.
The JCE president says the board members are alert to potential changes in the electoral system, including legislation being discussed in Congress. One such bill seeks to eliminate the D’Hondt method, a controversial electoral formula used to allocate seats in multi-member positions. The bill, introduced by Senator Félix Bautista (Fuerza del Pueblo-San Juan de la Maguana), is currently under review by a congressional committee.
The JCE will also have to take on a mediating role regarding a campaign aimed at reducing public funding for political parties. Another challenge facing the JCE is ensuring a fairer electoral competition in future elections and establishing more effective mechanisms to prevent government resources from being used to favor the ruling party’s candidates.
As reported in El Caribe, in regards to a recent Constitutional Court ruling on independent candidacies, Tácito Perdomo, the political delegate for the Reformist Social Christian Party (PRSC) at the JCE, raised concerns about the JCE setting timelines for certain issues. He warned that expanding access to independent candidacies might overwhelm the JCE’s capacity to organize elections effectively.
18 December 2024