Yesterday evening, Thursday 3 September 2015, the PLD said that the Central Electoral Board (JCE) must ignore the Constitutional mandate on the distribution of candidacies for the 2016 elections. PLD Chamber of Deputies spokesman Elpidio Baez argued that in the same way as the JCE plenary had ordered the application of number of deputies according to population density, the Board could revoke the disposition.
The 2010/2015 Constitution sets a ceiling of 178 deputies to represent the National District and the 32 provinces and seven deputies to represent the Dominican Diaspora.
The JCE under Roberto Rosario is applying the distribution of deputies according to population density, reducing legislators in some provinces and increasing their numbers in others, which has been rejected by 26 of the recognized political parties, the only exception being the FNP.
Baez says the JCE took the decision only 10 months before the national election, when the parties had already conformed their coalitions and alliances. He said this has caused problems in eight provinces where the number of deputy positions has been reduced. He said the JCE should have applied it a year and a half ago.