| [Contribution]Electoral Observation Experience in the Presidential and Congressional Elections of the Dominican Republic 2024 |
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| Last updated 2024-06-14 |
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On May 19, the Dominican Republic held its 2024 presidential and congressional elections. The 8,145,548 eligible voters had the opportunity to vote between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to elect 244 principal representatives and 20 substitutes for the next four years of government. With a turnout of just over 54%, the citizens democratically elected their president, vice president, 32 senators, 190 deputies, and 20 deputies to the PARLACEN (plus 20 substitutes).
On the experience as an A-WEB Electoral Observer in the Dominican Republic: Thanks
to the cordial invitation and firm belief of the Central Electoral Board (JCE)
of the Dominican Republic in International Electoral Observation as a mechanism
for transparency, continuous improvement, and collaborative learning; and the
professionalism and generosity of the Association of World Election Bodies
(A-WEB) that extended this invitation to our organization, I was able to
actively participate in this extremely enriching experience for democratic life
and electoral practice.
The
A-WEB observation mission comprised seven observers from seven different countries, including Argentina, Belgium,
Bolivia, Colombia, South Korea, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Divided into four working days between May 16 and 19, the JCE prepared
three well-differentiated stages:
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May 16 and 17: Multiple informative sessions were held throughout the day,
providing context, current situation, and history, helping to ensure a better
understanding of the Dominican electoral system for all international missions
and representatives. Located in Santo Domingo, these segments included
presentations on various topics such as external voting, accessible voting,
electoral IT, communications plan, penitentiary voting, women's political
participation, electoral prosecution, and the Superior Electoral Tribunal. It
is really remarkable that these spaces not only had optimal organization and
high-caliber speakers to cover each topic but also continuously invited the
audience to exchange and reflect. Personally, some of the audience questions
not only enriched the presentations but also invited me to have exchanges of
experiences and views with other representatives of the international
community. This initial overview allowed us to start taking notes and adjusting
criteria or interests on topics or services to observe during Sunday's
elections.
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May 18: The official proposal of the JCE was to attend the installation of
digital scanning, digitization, printing, and data transmission equipment
(EDET) at an electoral precinct in the National District. Although we could not
observe the installation process in detail with the other observers, we praised
this initiative of installing the technological equipment 24 hours before
election day as it gives the electoral staff enough time to resolve issues
and/or replace defective material if problems arise. This was also our first
contact with an electoral establishment and the polling station staff, from
whom we could always highlight their commitment, goodwill, and friendliness.
This day also included a very interesting private meeting between the seven members of the A-WEB Mission, led
by Professor Regis Dandoy of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ).
This meeting provided us with a greater informational substrate about the electoral
system, political parties, candidates, campaign issues, election day
procedures, the roles of staff and delegates at polling stations, surveys, and
the electoral observation methodology we would use. Spaces like this have an
extra benefit as they not only organize and coordinate the work but also weave
deeper and more real connections. It was a great opportunity to get to know my
mission colleagues better. We also took the opportunity to review the A-WEB
observation guide we would use the next day together. It is necessary to
highlight this tool, which allowed us throughout Sunday to unify criteria,
organize the observation experience, specify details or elements of interest,
and segment the activity experience at various times.
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May 19: The great day of the elections. We started the day at 5:30 a.m., leaving
the hotel to begin our observation
route at the opening of a precinct at 7:00 a.m. Throughout the day, along with
the mission, we visited a total of 8 electoral establishments in the
municipalities of Baní, Yaguate, and the National District. At the last one, we
stayed to witness the closing of the polling station and the beginning of the
counting process (an activity we unfortunately could not complete due to
delays) until approximately 6:45 p.m. This fantastic and intense experience
allowed us to contemplate a range of very enriching situations. The fieldwork
throughout the day allowed us to get to know establishments with very different
infrastructures (there were schools, government public buildings, sports, and
cultural centers), different social climates in their surroundings, talk to a
large number of people linked to electoral activity (from security forces,
voters, polling station staff, party representatives, etc.), and see firsthand
how voting took place in an atmosphere of absolute peace and democratic
respect. Around 8:30 p.m., we had the opportunity to see the first official
transmission of results to the public at the computing and dissemination
center. The JCE, as stipulated, was able to issue a first bulletin covering 20%
of the scrutinized polling stations. Besides highlighting this, it is necessary
to say that the operational, logistical, and spatial organization of the place
made the coexistence among all present actors (Press and Media, JCE, Political
Parties, Observation Missions, etc.) very gratifying. Finally, the return to
the hotel had two more moments to conclude the day. Together with the Mission
team, we shared dinner, exchanging
views, observations from the day,
comments, and lessons learned.
In moments like this, the selection of the profiles participating in the
mission is valued. The sharing was enriched by the perspectives of various
professions, cultures, different electoral systems, and different life experiences.
The priorities, counterpoints, findings, and conversations make the observation
experience and, therefore, the preliminary report constructed jointly grow
notably. With this input, each member proceeded to add their contributions to
the collective and polish their personal observation guide to conclude the day.
As part of the A-WEB observation mission, we drafted and delivered a
preliminary report with our observations and a compendium of final
recommendations to the JCE.
On
the electoral system and the 2024 presidential and congressional elections in
the Dominican Republic: - Geographically,
the Dominican Republic divides its territory into 31 Provinces plus 1 National
District. Electorally, this must be added to the external vote. Both for its
quantitative magnitude (more than 10% of the electoral roll) and for its own
representation (7 deputies are assigned to the exterior). - 1,723
candidates from 34 different Political Parties were presented to fill the 264
elective positions. - For
the presidency, nine candidates
were nominated, of which only 3 passed the 1.5% of valid votes. - 4,286
electoral precincts were set up within the Dominican Republic and 372 more
abroad. -
Nearly 300,000 people were recruited to be trained as
polling station staff. Finally,
around 90,000 people were employed. - 2,496
voters with preventive sentences could vote from the penitentiary establishment
where they were located for the presidential category. - 98
voters were enabled to vote from their homes through the inclusive initiative
for severe disabilities. In its characteristics and highlights: - Voting
is carried out using the Single Paper Ballot instrument, with one ballot per
category. The voter marks their preferences with a marker and must place their
votes in the three
differentiated ballot boxes (president, senators, deputies). - The
digitization and transmission of telegrams are done from the same polling
station. Each has a computer, scanner, and modem in its kit, and the polling
station staff is trained and even accompanied by technical specialists at the
establishments. - For
the presidential position, alliances are admitted (different Political Parties
present the same candidate). It is necessary to obtain 50% of the votes to be
elected (otherwise, there is a second round between the two best performances). - The Chamber of Deputies elects its representatives through a proportional
system or D'Hont. Still, it has the peculiarity of reserving seven seats for
the external districts and five seats for minority Political Parties (less than
1% of the votes). - External voting has a prominent place. Almost 8,000 people work in the 372 precincts abroad, have seven own representatives, and to the dimension that almost 10% of the electoral roll, it is enough to say that the United States of America represents the 4th district with the most voters of the 31+1+1 (Provinces, District, Exterior). - The installation of equipment in these precincts is done on Friday, Saturday, or election day itself, depending on each arrangement with the host country; and the notice to voters about where they vote is made by SMS, postal letter, and email. An interesting fact: Those who vote from Canada are
only allowed to do so in the presidential category. - Another area of interest was the communication carried out by the JCE to stimulate civic participation. With a marked focus on the young audience (18-35 years old) and a series of contents that included podcasts, media presence, influencers, singers, and athletes, the JCE's presence in the pre-communication was very well received. - Inclusive voting was one of the most highlighted segments. The JCE proposed a series of avant-garde actions ranging from auxiliary tables at the entrances to establishments to the relay center with interpreters and inclusive managers who helped guide and make voting more accessible. Within this axis, it is also worth mentioning assisted voting, template voting, and home voting for those who could vote in one of the 12 mobile teams on the same day.
Final
considerations and comments: The
return flight to Argentina was filled with the general feeling that the
elections in the Dominican Republic were well organized. Therefore, I want to
begin by congratulating the Central Electoral Board, which not only received us
warmly but also showed great interest
and actively listened to all the proposals from the international
observers' community.
Similarly,
I thank A-WEB for an excellent management and organization. The logistical
coordination, the group, and the work done showed great quality and commitment
to the task. I firmly believe that the comments and actions proposed in the
report can be feasible and greatly contribute to future elections in the
Dominican Republic.
However, it is also worth highlighting
the community that was present at the precincts on Sunday. Security personnel,
polling station staff, party representatives, and voters who democratically
overcame unforeseen events or isolated failures. Neither high temperatures nor
any delay in opening or lack of infrastructure were a problem or cause for
conflict. The entire society embraced the day with great respect, empathy, and
openness.
To
conclude, a few final words to the colleagues with whom we shared the different
spaces on the agenda. As a result of the exchanges, concerns, proposals, or
questions from the various observers, I can say that we not only left a
contribution or mark in the Dominican Republic; but I have brought with me the
energy, practices, and vocation to innovate to propose improvements and
advances in our own Argentine electoral system.
I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this electoral mission.
Read this article in Spanish at the following link: |
