Millions of voters in the Dominican Republic got a surprise when they showed up to cast their ballots in municipal elections on Feb. 16. Several hours after balloting had begun, the government said it had found inconsistencies in the functioning of voting machines and ordered the immediate suspension of the elections. In numerous cases, opposition candidates’ names did not appear on the electronic ballots. The next day, the country’s electoral board announced the municipal elections would be postponed to March 15, and would be conducted with paper ballots.
The cause of the malfunctioning voting system, which was recently purchased for a total of $19 million, is not immediately clear. The Organization of American States is investigating the issue at the Dominican government’s request, and no evidence has emerged to suggest the machines were tampered with.
Nonetheless, many Dominicans were outraged and have organized protests in recent weeks against the mishandled elections. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the capital, Santo Domingo, as well as other cities around the country to demand the immediate resignation of the electoral board’s members and a guarantee that future elections will be free, fair and transparent. The largely peaceful demonstrations have also spread to Dominican diaspora communities in cities like Philadelphia, New York, London, Madrid and Toronto. In addition to the rescheduled municipal vote, protesters are worried about potential irregularities in the upcoming presidential election in May.