Protests over election suspension shake the country

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - In Brief 23 Feb 2020 by Pavel Isa
Since last week, the country has been shaken. Following the suspension of municipal elections on Sunday, February 16, numerous peaceful protests have been organized in the main urban centers of the country. The most notable have occurred in Santo Domingo, the capital city, in front of the Central Electoral Board building. The rallies have been spontaneous, very crowded, their intensity has grown exponentially, and most of the participants have been young people between 15 and 25 years old. Similar demonstrations occurred in New York City, Lawrence (Massachusetts), Toronto, Miami (Florida), Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires (Argentina) and other cities where there is a relevant Dominican community. "Cacerolazos" have been another way of protesting. Citizens are called to hit pans with a spoon or other instrument for 10 minutes at certain times of the day. Noise in residential areas of Santo Domingo, especially in the middle-class neighborhoods, has been deafening. People are expressing disappointment with the quality of democracy in a way never seen before. It was not enough for new elections to be called by March 15. The intensity of the protest has surprised the government and the political parties that did not expect citizens to show such a high level of indignation. The claims are diverse. Some have demanded that all members of the Central Electoral Board resign for incompetence or for being complicit with an electoral fraud attempt. Others simply demand free elections and effective citizens’ vigilance over the process, recognizing that it is unreasonable to call for the resignation of the members of the electoral board just few weeks before new municipal elect...

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