Spanish
Santo Domingo. - The electoral process of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) continues to generate debates within the university community, especially regarding the voting intention survey conducted by the firm PASDAL.
In recent days, several candidates aspiring to different academic and administrative positions have formally communicated to the polling company their decision not to participate in the measurement exercise being conducted through an online survey.
According to information from various university sectors, electoral blocs headed by doctors Wilson Mejía and Radhamés Silverio, as well as candidates for deans, vice-deans, directors and deputy directors of university campuses and centers, in addition to school directors, have requested the polling firm PASDAL, directed by former rector Roberto Reyna, to refrain from including their names within the measurement instrument.
The candidates have clarified that this decision does not imply the withdrawal of their aspirations within the institutional electoral process of the UASD. According to them, the position responds to questions related to the methodology used, the confidentiality of the information, and the credibility of the exercise.
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Sources considered reliable within the university environment indicate that various candidates and academic sectors have expressed concerns regarding the way the measurement is carried out. Among the main questions raised is that the exercise would not be based on a random statistical sample, but would be structured as a kind of open census whose participation is encouraged by the campaign teams themselves, who mobilize their supporters to be part of the process.
This type of dynamic could generate a self-selection phenomenon, in which the most mobilized sectors mainly participate, which could affect the representativeness of the results and offer a partial image of the real climate of opinion within the university community.
These concerns are compounded by worries about the confidentiality of the vote and the protection of personal data. Some sectors have raised the need to clarify who has access to the information collected, how the participants' data is stored, and what mechanisms exist to ensure that the identity of those who respond cannot be linked to their answers.
Similarly, concerns have arisen regarding the handling of sensitive information within the university community, including the possibility that certain internal sectors manage databases of teachers and other members of the institution, as well as potential records of their preferences or levels of participation.
The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, as the oldest academic institution in the American continent, has historically been a space for critical thinking, plural debate, and democratic participation.
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In that context, different sectors believe that any tool designed to measure the opinion of their community must meet high standards of methodological rigor, credibility, independence, and respect for the privacy of those who participate.
