In a commentary last week in the newspaper Hoy, Jesus de la Rosa, a staunch PRD man who was also in charge of the last census, criticized the positions of Jacinto Peynado and Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, who have both claimed that a large number of Haitians have been given voting cards to tip the results in favor of José Francisco Peña Gómez, whose features are more like that of a Haitian than a Dominican.
Mr De la Rosa does not believe that as many Haitians live in D.R. as people have been led to suppose. He said that the census in 1993 showed there are less than 200,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. By Haitians, he means a person born in Haiti, not a person born here of Haitian parents. He said that during the census, he personally went to areas where Haitians are known to reside, particularly mentioning Culo Prieto, below Avenidor Mirador del Sur, and confirmed that most of them, without reserve, said they had been born in Haiti and would like to return to their country as soon as possible.
The Dominican constitution recognizes all those that have been born on its territory, with the exception of the legitimate children of diplomats or those that are in transit, as bona fide nationals. Jesús de la Rosa says that the PRSC is suggesting that children born of Haitian parents who are not legal residents do not acquire Dominican nationality and thus, should be deleted from the voters’ list.