Society will be able to comment on independent candidates

The Chamber of Deputies will hold a public consultation next Monday, starting at 10:00 a.m., to debate the bills seeking to enable independent candidacies in the Dominican Republic and thus gather public opinions on the political figure.

The call was approved by a majority vote by the Central Electoral Board committee , chaired by Representative Elías Wessin Chávez, and is directed at all social sectors interested in expressing their opinions on the issue , who must submit their positions in writing.

Public hearings are a method of social participation in which Congress listens to the public's views and recommendations on a significant bill .

The commission 's decision is part of the process led by the deputies to analyze the projects that have already been debated with the Plenary Session of the Central Electoral Board ( JCE ), with political parties and with some actors of civil society .

You may be interested

The commission is currently analyzing two projects : one presented by Representative Wessin Chávez and another submitted by the JCE . Both have been consolidated into a comparative matrix .

Wessin Chávez expressed his hope for the participation in the public hearings of both sectors that support independent candidates and those that oppose them so that "the commission has diverse positions " on the topic.

Still without consensus

Within the commission , there are two opposing views: one believes that a constitutional reform is required to allow these nominations, while the other maintains that it is a fundamental right that can be regulated by law .

In this regard, the committee 's chairman acknowledged that a consensus has not yet been reached among the deputies on the constitutionality of independent candidacies and added that the public hearings will be an opportunity to hear new voices before entering the deliberation stage.

The candidacies

The uproar over independent candidacies arose after a ruling issued in December by the Constitutional Court, in which a majority of judges ruled that candidates not affiliated with political parties could not meet the same requirements as those affiliated with organizations, and therefore ordered a readjustment of the electoral law .

Using its constitutional authority, the JCE Plenary Session submitted a bill for independent candidacies to the Chamber of Deputies. It proposes the creation of civic associations for independent candidacy, financial transparency rules, and a ban on running as an independent candidate after losing an internal party contest.

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