Spanish
Santo Domingo.- The aspiring candidate for the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), César René Peñaló Ozuna, starred in a tense moment during his evaluation in the public hearings of the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM), when questioning the suitability of several of its members, including President Luis Abinader, to evaluate him.
The incident occurred after the president asked him to conclude his five-minute presentation to start the question-and-answer session. Peñaló Ozuna refused to stop, claiming that the members of the CNM did not possess the necessary skills to understand his arguments.You may be interested in: http://Raquel Peña presides over the third session of public hearings of the CNM to elect judges of the SCJ and the TSE{
"It's not a claim; what I'm saying is that that should have been appreciated. You, without being a judge or magistrate, had to achieve the honor of considering me. Thank me for what I contributed," he expressed, addressing President Abinader. The CNM is composed of judges and political figures. Among the non-judicial members are Abinader, Ricardo de los Santos (Senate), Alfredo Pacheco (Chamber of Deputies), Omar Fernández and Tobías Crespo. Judges participating are Luis Henry Molina (SCJ), Napoleón Estévez Lavandier (TC) and Nancy Salcedo (SCJ).Doubts about the disciplinary regime and criticisms of the regulations
Following the altercation, the Senate President, Ricardo de los Santos, tried to resume the evaluation by questioning him about the disciplinary regime of the TSE. Peñaló insisted on feeling "bound" to answer, arguing that only the CNM judges had the capacity to understand the legal dimension of his explanations.
He affirmed that Regulation 1-25 requires knowledge of "dialectical legal logic" and scientific experience, assuring that part of the plenary was "cognitively unfit". Peñaló also reiterated that in his past application, in 2021, he recommended changes to the TSE regulations, which, according to him, were subsequently applied, which in his opinion would demonstrate his suitability. During the previous process, he was also questioned for exceeding the time limit and for attempting to disqualify members of the Council for not being judges.
