National Progressive Force Party (FNP) presidential candidate Pelegrin Castillo Seman and political analyst Daniel Pou say Dominican democracy will be endangered if foreigners are permitted to count the votes for the 15 May 2016 general election. They also described the proposal as “an affront to the Constitution.”
With 19 days to go, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) is under pressure from members of civil society and the United States government, which are demanding an audit of the vote counting system, an increase in the presence of technicians in the Computer Center and more international observers.
JCE president Roberto Rosario has assured that they have done everything to reassure political and civil organizations but neither political parties nor foreign governments will be allowed to be part of the vote counting process as it is against the law for anyone who is not a member of an electoral college to be present.
Castillo Seman said that of course the technical equipment needed to be checked to ensure that it was transmitting the data correctly but it would not be appropriate for external observers to be present during that process.
He challenged the United States ambassador’s statement to the American Chamber of Commerce that he had to right to intervene and said he would not respond to that.
Rosario said that the Constitution is clear in Article 3 on sovereignty, self-determination and non-intervention.
Pou stated that he had no problem with foreigners observing the elections but that the technical part of the process should be the responsibility of the specialist organization.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/politica/la-presencia-de-extranjeros-en-el-conteo-de-votos-seria-una-violacion-de-la-constitucion-GD3454910
