Above: the signing ceremony in Washington (OAS Photo/Juan Manuel Herrera)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The Dominican Republic and the Organization of American States today signed an agreement on the privileges and immunities of the observers who will oversee the country’s presidential general elections and Ultramar Congress elections on May 20.
In the country’s upcoming vote, some 6.5 million citizens will vote for the country’s President and Vice President. For the first time in the country’s history, voters will also choose 8 deputies representing Dominican communities abroad.
“This is another example of the consolidation of representative democracy in the Dominican Republic in its 168 years of independence,” said Ambassador Roberto Saladin, the Dominican Republic’s Permanent Representative at the OAS.
The signing ceremony was held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, where Saladin was joined by OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza.
“The OAS has traditionally accompanied our election officials in the voting processes,” Saladin said. “We were among the first countries where it conducted election observation; this participation has clearly served to strengthen our democratic processes.”
The mission will be headed by former Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, who will make a preliminary visit at the end of this month.