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Santo
Domingo, 17 de mayo de 2004
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We,
the undersigned, international observers of the Lima
Agreement – Network of Civic movements from Latin
America and the Caribbean – invited by Participación
Ciudadana to monitor the presidential elections held
last May 16th, submit to the Dominican citizens,
public authorities, and the international community in
this country our Report of the Electoral Observation
regarding the conditions under which this major civic
act took place. |
On Election Day, the
delegation of the Lima Agreement observers comprised of
organizations from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti,
Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Peru was deployed to the
different polling stations in the National District and
provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, Pedro Brand, Villa
Altagracia, Baní, Yaguate, Haina, San Cristóbal, Villa
González, Licey, La Romana, San Pedro de Macorís,
Quisqueya, Boca Chica and Bonao to conduct electoral
observation.
As a result of the observation performed, we positively
observed the following:
a. The democratic vocation of the Dominican citizens, who
from very early in the morning massively went to the
polling stations to fulfill their duty as voters and as
polling officials, observers, delegates, and electoral
officials.
We particularly recognize the effort of thousands of
volunteers coordinated by Participación Ciudadana who,
with their work, contributed to the transparency and
legality of the electoral process.
b. An outstanding improvement in the voters’ registry and
the mechanisms to ensure full access for the different
actors of this process to cross-check information
contained in the registry well in advance of Election Day;
this meant a significant progress for the conduction of
transparent elections.
c. The recognition of the political right to vote for
Dominican citizens living abroad.
d. The open polling station system was a feature that
generated great confidence among the voters. The early and
widespread opening of polling stations throughout the
country and the effective performance of their officials
in handling the electoral process account for the success
of these elections.
e. Both domestic and international observers carried out
their jobs in a respectful and safe environment. Likewise,
in several cases a harmonic and collaborative relation was
observed among the delegates of the different political
parties.
f. The political maturity shown by the political party
leaders who accepted the results of the popular will
expressed at the polls.
Acknowledging all the improvements achieved in terms of:
reliability of the voters’ registry, integration of the
polling stations, training of polling station officials,
the respectful relation observed among the political party
delegates, and mainly, the impressive civic consciousness
shown by the Dominican citizens, we do consider it is
important to mention certain aspects regarding the
logistics and organization of the voting process,
specifically during the first hours of the day, which
could have affected the development of the process:
a. The Lima Agreement expresses its firm condemnation to
the violent acts of Barahona that killed three citizens
and severely injured another two. We are confident that
the appropriate sanctions will be imposed, and the
necessary measures will be taken to ensure the citizens’
physical integrity and full exercise of political rights
in the future.
b. Several polling stations were found to be inappropriate
for the conduction of the electoral process inciting
disorder and unrest among citizens who had to stand in
long lines, in some cases, for hours waiting to vote.
c. We were able to observe an overrepresentation of
political party delegates, activists, and facilitators who,
occasionally, took note of people who had voted,
identified supporters who had not, and made them vote.
d. Even though party propaganda on Election Day has
decreased significantly, there are still ways in which
this principle is violated in the areas surrounding the
polling stations. For instance, our observers verified
that a political leader from Villa Altagracia walked
around different polling stations in the area in a
threatening attitude and with an armed escort.
e. Finally, the high sale and consumption rates of
alcoholic beverages in the areas surrounding the polling
stations is very concerning; particularly because of the
risks this poses to the security of citizens and to the
electoral results.
The Dominican electoral regime has been characterized in
the past few years by a constant and unfinished process of
changes aiming at providing the essential conditions of
equality, clarity, and transparency.
The May 16 election proves that significant progress has
been made in the technical and procedure areas such as the
existence of a reliable and updated voters’ registry, the
identity card and the effective performance of the polling
stations, all of which are essential variables to hold
transparent and reliable elections.
Even though the pre-electoral period was characterized by
an environment of fear and tension provoked, largely, by
the smear campaigns and the lack of programmatic content
as well as by several reports about alleged irregularities
in the conduction of the electoral process, yesterday’s
election proved all those fears wrong and showed the
willingness and civic maturity of the Dominican citizens
who turned out into the polls massively.
Yet in order to continue improving the Dominican electoral
regime it is necessary to give way to a second generation
of reforms that will fill in the gaps and weaknesses that
distort the basic principles of electoral competition. We
have witnessed a campaign characterized by reckless and
distorted use of the media, through campaigns that are far
from providing a vehicle for civic political education and
for potential solutions to the serious problems the
country faces.
There is an obvious need to improve the legal provisions
and regulatory framework on the role of the mass media
during elections, so that the existing trend of media
concentration, both public and private, and their
partisanship is not a distorting variable during the
process.
Another aspect to be considered is the lack of effective
checks and balances on campaign financing and political
parties; the expenses incurred into, the source of such
resources, and their administration are often unknown. Not
to take this variable into account could mean to change
the very nature of the political activity and turn it into
a means of protecting the interests of de facto or illegal
powers.
In other Latin American countries facing similar
challenges, regulations and mechanisms have been
implemented in order to reduce the distortions triggered
by the aforementioned variables. In the same way,
mechanisms have also been implemented to stop political
parties from engaging in misconducts and resorting to
smear campaigns as a means of propaganda, thus violating
ethical pacts, and undermining the ethical and moral
foundation of the Dominican society.
Finally, we reiterate our commendation to the Dominican
civil society for the impressive civic consciousness shown
in this electoral process. It is now time for the
political actors to ensure that the transition of powers
occurs in a climate of legality, transparency,
accountability, and democratic governance.
The Lima Agreement
Members:
Poder Ciudadano (Argentina)
Participa (Chile)
Viva la Ciudadanía (Colombia)
Consorcio de Educación Cívica (El Salvador)
Acción Ciudadana (Guatemala)
Electoral Assistance Bureau (Guyana)
Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (Jamaica)
Consejo Nacional de Observación (Haiti)
Movimiento Ciudadano por la Democracia (Mexico)
Alianza Cívica (Mexico)
Ética y Transparencia (Nicaragua)
Panamá Justicia y Paz (Panama)
Decidamos (Paraguay)
Transparencia (Peru)
Participación Ciudadana (Dominican Republic)
Momento de la Gente (Venezuela)
Nacional Democratic Institute
Centro de Asesoría y Capacitación Electoral (CAPEL)
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