2024 was marked in the country by a slowdown in the struggle against the corruption and characterized by the slowness in the supervisory function of the National Congress and the Chamber of Accountsthe civic movement stated today in its balance of the year Citizen Participation.
In its evaluation document, the entity points out that one of the most worrying issues during the year 2024 has been the slowness in the knowledge of cases of public corruption by the empowered courts.
He points out that both preliminary hearings like the substantive judgments are hampered by clearly dilatory strategies, where hearings are postponed for illnesses of accused and lawyersfor social commitments, for trips abroad, among other non-justifiable reasons.
It also questions the internal control bodies, such as the Directorate of Ethics and Government Integrity (DIGEIG), the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGRD) and its units internal audit either anti-fraudwhich in their opinion considerably decreased their activity and publications of audit reports in relation to the year 2023.
“As for the external control bodies, such as the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic (CCRD), or the National Congress, in their oversight role, no significant progress has been evident, beyond very specific or circumstantial actions.” , held.
He highlighted that “with regard to the DIGEIG, the owner, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, indicated that she has filed more than 46 cases of administrative corruption from the current government administration.”transferring responsibility to the Ministry of Public Administration or the Attorney General’s Officeas a recipient of cases with indications of criminal responsibility, in the majority of which we have no evidence that there is an investigation into these complaints.”
He assured that the Chamber of Accounts, the external control body of the Stateafter the scandals of 2023, appears practically inoperative.
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In relation to the Chamber of Accounts it says that: “As of the date of this balance sheet, it has not published a single audit during the year 2024, deepening the decline in its performance compared to previous years; limited to the delivery to the National Congress of the Report on the Analysis and Evaluation of Budget Execution and the General Accountability of the State for the fiscal year 2023, in April 2024; approval, through resolution no. ADM-X-2024-001, of the General Application Regulations of Law 18-24, which will come into force on January 1, 2025.”
He added that “despite this new platform, a large number of appointed and elected officials failed to comply with the deadlines for submitting their sworn statements without resulting in the corresponding sanctions.”
Political reforms
In the political-institutional order, PC highlighted the constitutional reform process in its report.
Finally, Congress knew Reform number 40 since 1844. Eleven articles were modified.
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He considered the changes made to the Magna Carta as reformist because it consolidated the intangibility of the stone formula for the constitutional change that refers to presidential re-election. And to avoid interpretations, a transitional was put in place: the president from 2024 to 2028 will never be able to run, a new Article, 278, which states that no president will be able to modify the Constitution to benefit from it.”
“Another of the modifications was to exclude the Attorney General of the Republic from the National Council of the Judiciary, which constituted an amendment to an error from 2010, which should not have occurred. Now,” says the civic entity.
PC regretted that the Review Assembly approved that the period of the attorney general of the Republic will be only two years, which in his opinion reduces independence.
High courts
He highlighted that the Senate has just ratified the permanence of four of the members of the Central Electoral Board and the replacement of one position, thereby maintaining an organization that did an excellent job.
This year the Constitutional Court was completed, renewed and strengthened. In the first months of next year (2025) the National Judicial Council and Congress will elect the members of the Superior Electoral Court, six members of the Supreme Court of Justice and the members of the Chamber of Accounts.
Haitian theme
Regarding the Haitian issue, he said that in international organizations, President Abinader has put the problem of Haiti and how it affects Dominican society and the region on the agenda. He says that Haiti “is a failed, collapsed state, where gangs are committing terrorist acts.”
a note
Electoral advances
He highlighted that in 2024, the country held two successful elections: the municipal elections in February and the presidential and congressional elections in May. He said that both contests were well organized and represented an advance in the country’s democratic institutions. He maintained that PRM won the vast majority of the municipalities, the National Congress and the re-election of President Abinader.
However, he cited that the political culture of clientelism was highlighted again, evidencing the need to make the necessary adjustments to reduce it. He praised the work of the JCE.
