Superior Administrative Court of the Dominican Republic Receives Amparo Action from El Faro Latino Against the JCE

New York: The Superior Administrative Court of the Judicial Branch of the Dominican Republic has processed an Amparo action for compliance filed against the Central Electoral Board (JCE), its president, Román Jáquez Liranzo, and other members of the Plenary, following the JCE’s refusal to provide financial information regarding the Dominican elections abroad in 2024. This action was filed by Esteban Cabrera, in his capacity as director of the newspaper El Faro Latino, which is investigating alleged irregularities and embezzlement related to those funds.

The Superior Administrative Court issued the case receipt on Tuesday, March 5, for case #2025-0054632, under request #2025-R0203865. The case was admitted at 11:21 a.m., as reported by Dr. Fanny Josefina Castillo Cedeño, an El Faro Latino newspaper attorney.

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Well Theodormiro Sepúlveda Polanco, Director of the Dominican Vote Abroad.

On October 21, 2024, El Faro Latino requested a financial report from the Central Electoral Board (JCE) concerning the funds for the Dominican elections abroad held on May 19, 2024, under Law 200-04 on Free Access to Public Information. However, the JCE has refused to provide the requested information.

El Faro Latino’s journalistic investigation requires these documents to be analyzed and audited, just as it did with the 2020 elections, where their inquiries revealed embezzlement of public funds, electoral fund mismanagement, money laundering, influence peddling, and collusion between public officials and candidates to benefit them.

 Another Investigation into 2020 Embezzlement  

The newspaper El Faro Latino also investigated the embezzlement of electoral funds in 2020 and found that the stolen funds could have exceeded US$4,618,696.76, approximately RD$258,647,019.00, from a general budget estimated at US$7,179,625.20, which, at the exchange rate of that time, was equivalent to about RD$405,648,824.00. Although officials were prosecuted by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA) in the Dominican Republic, no consequences followed, which is why it is believed that these events may have been repeated in the recent Dominican elections abroad in 2024.

Read also: Embezzlement of JCE Funds Could Be Turned Over to U.S. Justice System

In the Dominican Republic, Law No. 200-04 on Free Access to Public Information establishes that all public institutions must provide access to the information they request. If a public institution refuses to provide requested financial documents under this law, an Amparo Action for Compliance can be filed before the Superior Administrative Court (TSA).

Since the JCE continues to refuse to provide the requested information, El Faro Latino has turned to the Court to order the JCE to release it, considering the refusal illegal.