Social scientist and political leader Max Puig writes in today’s El Caribe newspaper about the infamous history of electoral fraud in the Dominican Republic. The relatively recent catalogue is strewn with examples, from the “collossal fraud” of the 1990 elections against then-PLD leader Juan Bosch to the serious crisis of 1994 when Balaguer was forced to reduce his term to two years. These events led to some positive outcomes, in the shape of electoral reform, but the way in which members of the JCE (Central Electoral Board) were recently elected is one notable exception. The ruling party still has too much control over this, writes Puig, and the electoral system is riddled with defects, such as flaws in the JCE computer network, the reports that hundreds of thousands of Dominicans hold erroneous official documentation, the many cases of double registration, the people whose details do not appear in the central registry and deceased people who are still eligible for voting, among others. The real “dead voters” are not those who appear posthumously on the register, says Puig, but those who, despite being alive, fail to vote for some reason or another. There are efforts to improve the situation and they should be commended, says Puig, citing Participacion Ciudadana and other bodies engaged in this work. At the same time, there are reports that duplicate ID cards are being issued to party supporters bearing the names of people who have no intention of voting – a situation which, according to Puig, could be avoided if the closed electoral college system were abolished. “These reports should not be underestimated. It is better to prevent than to lament.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Social scientist and political leader Max Puig writes in today’s El Caribe newspaper about the infamous history of electoral fraud in the Dominican Republic. The relatively recent catalogue is strewn with examples, from the “collossal fraud” of the 1990 elections against then-PLD leader Juan Bosch to the serious crisis of 1994 when Balaguer was forced … <\/p>\n