Santo Domingo.- He political scientist Freddy Ángel Castro warned that one of the possibilities that the Central Board pTo limit a hypertrophy of independent candidates starting in the upcoming 2028 elections, it is through a regulation that, without violating fundamental rights, establishes conditions, such as the case of public financing, which should not reach those who are not nominated by parties. , political groups and movements.
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Freddy Ángel explained that just as the electoral body cannot require independent candidates to have 158 offices open nationwide, in the main municipalities, nor does it require them to maintain a list of cadres throughout the country, to guarantee in What is invested in that financing?
Political scientist Freddy Ángel Castro
The expert in political and electoral issues added that the JCE is not going to require non-party candidates to dedicate 10% of the funds they receive to education, since they will not be recipients of state resources, that is. That is, independent candidates must obtain their private financing, as parties do.
Interviewed by Héctor Herrera Cabral in the D’AGENDA program that is broadcast every Sunday on Telesistema channel 11 and TV Quisqueya for the United States, the legal professional indicated that if the Board does not make the demands that it makes on political parties to them to maintain themselves, you cannot allow independent candidates the discretion of equality to use a fund, of which they will not submit a financial report.
He clarified that the risk that independent candidates have is not only limited to the aspect of public financing, because there is another element which is the Directorate of Transparency, Control and Report, since it may be the case that an independent candidate receives more resources than a political party, coming from people linked to illicit activities who want to nominate candidates and obtain dominant positions in the State. Then, that applicant has to be accountable to the department that has the Financial Control Board, because she cannot exceed the limit of the electoral campaign.
“Now what Congress has to do with the reform that must be carried out of the Electoral Regime law is to put more grip on it so that the Board is able to annul any candidacy that exceeds the campaign spending limit, as is done in other countries. Therefore, in the field of independent candidacies, it is nothing new; For example, in the United States there were six presidential candidates, as well as senators and representatives, who ran under that modality,” the political scientist suggested.
He recalled that the current president of Argentina, Javier Miley, was an independent candidate. “But there must be a regulation, and there the parties are right, in the sense that independent candidates have to comply with minimum conditions, because if not, then let the Sea come in.”
“There is a risk, and it is a greater risk, but an electoral candidacy is going to present itself to the Central Electoral Board simply with an act and a record. I think that, within the framework of the Regulation, minimum conditions should be established for who are the people who are supporting an independent candidacy,” Freddy Ángel insisted.
He stressed that it is necessary to present the minimum record of support that must be had to achieve recognition of a political party. “That’s why I say that there is a great challenge and debate on this issue, and rather than complaining you have to go deeper, I think it could be 0.5% of the general support, but I insist, an independent candidacy continues to be a factor of risk in the financing component.”
“Juan Orlando Hernández was removed from the presidency of Honduras and taken by the DEA to a North American prison, a politician who came from a traditional party and who became a narco president,” he said.
The recently passed substitute member of the Plenary Session of the Central Electoral Board says that he agrees with the decision of the Constitutional Court, who ruled in favor of allowing independent candidacies in electoral processes.
Given fears that an outsider could emerge in the country in Dominican politics, Castro said that this is very closely related to voters’ displeasure with the political party system.
