2020 – Page 258

The Central Electoral Board (JCE) is giving political parties two more days to register the alliances for the 17 May 2020 presidential and congressional elections. The deadline was moved from 17 February to 19 February. The JCE judges will then meet to review these on 21 February and announce final decisions on 24 February. The …

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The Central Electoral Board (JCE) says 118 international electoral observers are accredited for the 16 February 2020 municipal election. The observers are from 20 countries: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Uruguay and the United States. They will be …

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A leak led to local outrage when it was revealed that the director of the Social Plan, Iris Guaba, had ordered government-paid influencers to go after independent journalists. The matter nevertheless did not die there. TV journalist Nuria Piera took advantage of the new interest to take a closer look at the Social Plan entity …

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There are 32 senators in the Dominican Republic, one for each of 31 provinces and another for the National District. The National Budget set aside RD$2.53 billion for the senators. Diario Libre reports that in just the first half of 2019, the legislators spent RD$2.2 billion of the total allotment, or 89%. The expenditures for …

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The Senate passed the Transparency and Patrimony Reassessment Bill on 10 February 2020. The bill is by Senator Adriano Sanchez Roa (PRSC-Elias Piña). The bill had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The Ley de Transparencia y Revalorización Patrimonial establishes a transitory tax regime whereby taxpayers can declare, reassess and pay taxes on …

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The Senate approved the Public-Private Partnerships Bill, with a report that merges the two initiatives on the same issue presented by Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) deputy Victor (Ito) Bisonó Haza and Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) senator Charlie Mariotti Tapia. The Ley de Alianzas Público Privadas had already passed in the Chamber of Deputies. Bisonó …

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The Chamber of Deputies passed the Bill of Comprehensive Coprocessing of Wastes in the Dominican Republic. The Ley General de Gestión Integral y Coprocesamiento de Residuos had expired in Congress on several occasions. It was included in the list of bills identified as priority of the government when President Danilo Medina convened the extraordinary session …

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The Senate passed the Bill of Guarantees for Movable Property (Ley de Garantías Mobiliarias). The bill establishes a new legal framework for asset guarantees for bank borrowing in the country. The bill has provisions to facilitate business for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business. It authorizes the creation of an electronic and automated registry in …

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The general coordinator of Citizen Participation, Sonia Díaz Inoa, and the United Nations resident coordinator in the country, Mauricio Ramírez Villegas, signed an agreement on sustainable development on Monday, 10 February 2020. Citizen Participation (CP) is the national chapter of Transparency International. As explained in a press release, the initiative seeks to foster actions within …

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The Santo Domingo Metro and Skylift Office (OPRET) announced new usage records have been set for the city metro and cable car system. The office says that six new cars have been ordered to respond to the growing demand. As reported, on 4 February a record 407,172 passengers were transported. The Metro regularly transports upwards …

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