Spanish
Santo Domingo. – The presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies expressed their support for the possibility of eliminating independent candidacies from electoral legislation, considering that the Constitution of the Republic does not contemplate this figure and that any regulation in this regard must start from a constitutional reform.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, maintained that the National Congress would only be adapting the law to what is established in the Magna Carta if it decides to eliminate that possibility from the current legislation.
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Pacheco explained that the Dominican Constitution does not establish a mechanism for independent candidacies, so he understands that the Legislative Branch cannot legislate on a figure that is not contemplated in the constitutional text. "The Constitution of the Republic does not contain space for independent candidacy. So, if the National Congress were to eliminate that possibility, the only thing it is doing is updating the law with what our Constitution establishes," he expressed. The legislator indicated that it will be the Senate of the Republic that must make the final decision on the matter, although he advanced that he sympathizes with the position being discussed in the upper house. "Let's see what the Senate does. If the Senate eliminates that possibility that is contemplated in the electoral law, but not in the Constitution, then we will see what the final decision of the plenary will be, but I must say that I sympathize with what the Senate is doing," he affirmed. In the same vein, the president of the Senate, Ricardo de los Santos, stated that Congress seeks to modify the current electoral framework to counter the TC-0788-24 ruling of the Constitutional Court, which opened the possibility for independent candidates to run for elective positions without submitting to the regime of traditional political parties. De los Santos invited those who promote independent candidacies to review article 216 of the Constitution, which establishes the role of parties, groupings, and political movements within the Dominican democratic system. "It's good that they see clearly what the Constitutional Court's ruling has been. Precisely what we are doing is trying to adapt the law to the Court's ruling. I invite everyone to read article 216 of the Constitution; the answers are there," he stated. Lawyers and political actors take a position on the issue The debate on independent candidacies has generated opposing positions in different sectors of the country. The executive vice president of the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (Finjus), Servio Tulio Castaños, proposed the need to open a dialogue between the branches of government and political actors to find a solution that is compatible with the constitutional text. "What we have said is that there should be a dialogue between the powers of the State, including the political parties that promote independent candidacies, and see how we can find a solution that fits what the Constitution establishes," he said. From the opposite side, Ciprián Reyes, president of the Dominican Democratic Party, rejected any attempt to eliminate this form of political participation and assured that independent candidacies have existed in the country since 1926. Reyes described as an "attack on democracy" any initiative that seeks to suppress them and accused the traditional parties of trying to preserve control of the political system. "Independent candidacies have been a reality for a hundred years. To try to eliminate them is a stab in the back to the Dominican people and an attempt by the partyocracy to prevent new options from emerging," he affirmed. Meanwhile, the judge of the Constitutional Court, Alejandro Vargas, defended the legitimacy of the decisions issued by that body, pointing out that the court's rulings are adopted by majority and are binding. "I cannot say that there was an error in the decision of the Constitutional Court. There was a majority criterion and the decision has legitimacy because it was issued in accordance with what the Constitution establishes," he explained. The debate on independent candidacies continues to be open in the National Congress, where the Senate approved in first reading a bill that seeks to repeal articles 156, 157 and 158 of Law 20-23 Organic of the Electoral Regime, to eliminate this figure. The initiative, which had already expired in the previous legislature, was reintroduced and submitted by the senator from La Vega, Ramón Rogelio Genao, of the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) along with other legislators.
