The ex-president of Colombia, Belisario Betancourt, congratulated the Dominican people and the JCE on "the success and transparency" of its presidential elections. Speaking in his capacity as head of the delegation sent by the Carter Center in Atlanta and the National Democratic Institute, Betancourt also pointed to the need for reform of certain current practices. He pointed to the system of "closed polling stations," whereby many voters arrived at their anticipated voting district only to discover that it had been relocated. He also proposed elimination of the waiting period between verification of voter identity and the actual marking of the ballot, an awkward process which resulted in long delays for most people. Criticism was also leveled at the way in which the JCE members were chosen. Although the law provides that they are to be selected by the senate, the PRD-dominated upper house named the current board without the time-honored pre-selection consultation with the other parties. Therefore, claims of favoritism towards the party that had appointed it shadowed the JCE continuously. The observer team, which comprised 24 persons from 11 countries, arrived in the DR on May 12, and visited over 300 individual polling stations throughout the country.
