AMERICA/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - The Bishops' statement: "The outcome of the elections must be accepted by all"

Wednesday, 25 May 2016 elections   episcopal conferences   politics  

Santo Domingo (Agenzia Fides) - The Dominican Episcopal Conference (EDC) has called on political leaders and all Dominican nationals to conclude the election process (see Fides 12, 17 and 19/05/2016) in a peaceful and respectful manner. In a statement dated May 23, and sent to Fides, the Bishops say: "May this final phase of the elections be a model of calm, civility and mutual respect, we are all responsible for building a nation based on permanent values of truth , love, hope and peace, and every Dominican must take on the challenge and the commitment to be coherent".
"The outcome of the elections must be accepted by all", reads the text, which continues: "we congratulate the people for their civil and democratic participation. Political parties should observe this attitude of people as awareness of their responsibility towards democracy".
Since the final results of the elections have not yet been published, the Bishops write: "It is the duty of the JCE (Junta Central Electoral) to dispel all doubts regarding the basis of integrity, transparency, efficiency and accountability, so that the counting and publication of votes leaves no room for the slightest doubt about the clarity of the electoral process in this crucial final phase".
According to local press, the delay in the vote count is due to the use, for the first time in the country, of sophisticated electronic methods, which in some parts of the country did not work correctly, thus forcing these places to resort to manual counting. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 25/05/2016)


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