El Faro Latino Notifies JCE and Román Jáquez about TSA Hearing for Failure to Provide Election Expenses for 2024
New York: The newspaper El Faro Latino has notified, for this Monday, March 31, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) and its president, Román Andrés Jáquez Liranzo, about resolution number 2025-0054632, under request number 2025-R0203865 of order number 3941-2025, regarding the Public Hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
The hearing will take place in person at Hearing Room 03 in the Courts Building of the National District, which has been constituted as the Constitutional Court to hear the Compliance Amparo Action filed by El Faro Latino against the Central Electoral Board and its president, Román Andrés Jáquez Liranzo, for their refusal to provide financial documents of the Dominican elections abroad in 2024.
This investigation also involves Mr. Well Sepúlveda, Director of the Dominican Vote Abroad, who typically manages the financial resources allocated by the JCE to cover the costs of Dominican elections in the three foreign constituencies, divided into 33 Offices of Electoral Logistics Coordination Abroad (OCLEEs).
-
- Well Sepúlveda, Director del Voto Dominicano en el Exterior
Considering the resolution, based on Articles 164 and 165 of the 2010 Constitution of the Dominican Republic, the Administrative Superior Court (TSA) has set the Public Hearing for Wednesday, April 9, 2025. It has authorized El Faro Latino (the claimant) to notify the defendant parties, namely the Central Electoral Board, its president, Román Andrés Jáquez Liranzo, as well as the Attorney General of the Administration, and to deliver them a copy of this order along with the petition and supporting documents.
Finally, the resolution orders the General Secretariat to email a copy of this order to the claimant, El Faro Latino, on March 17, 2025.
Coraima C. Román Pozo, General Secretary.
Context of the Case
El Faro Latino is investigating allegations in the Dominican diaspora regarding possible embezzlement of electoral funds allocated by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) to cover the expenses of the Dominican elections abroad, held on May 19, 2024. As a result, on October 21, 2024, Esteban Cabrera, director of El Faro Latino, requested through the JCE’s Access to Information Office the delivery of all documents related to the “APPLICATION AND METHOD” of the execution of the budget used by the institution for the Dominican elections in the 33 OCLEEs abroad. These documents would be used in an ongoing investigation by El Faro Latino.
An independent private auditing firm contracted by El Faro Latino will analyze the financial documents and conduct a forensic audit to determine whether embezzlement affected the financial resources. However, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) has refused to comply with the requirements set forth by Dominican laws and has refused to deliver the requested documentation.
In a separate matter, during the 2020 Dominican elections, El Faro Latino requested, under the same legal framework, the delivery of documents from the JCE, and 18,800 documents were received, which were investigated, analyzed, and audited. According to our investigation, the embezzled funds in that instance are estimated to be over US$4,618,696.76 (approximately RD$258,647,019.00) from a total estimated budget of US$7,179,625.20 (around RD$405,648,824.00, according to the exchange rate at the time). No individual was brought to justice, even though the JCE admitted the crimes in its audit.
See a copy in Spanish of the notification act of the Superior Administrative Court:
