JCE spent more than $34,000 on Spain trip for two members, Diario Libre reports
The Dominican Republic’s Central Electoral Board (JCE) spent at least RD$2.03 million (approximately US$34,000) on a 2025 trip to Spain involving two of its members, according to information provided by the institution to Diario Libre.
JCE members Hirayda Fernández and Samir Chami Isa traveled to León from July 12 to 26, 2025, to participate in the Cybersecurity Summer BootCamp, an international program focused on cybersecurity, digital threats and cooperation.
According to documents reviewed by Diario Libre, each official received US$12,000 in per diem, equivalent to US$800 per day for 15 days. Airfare added another US$9,294.27 combined.
Three other JCE officials also attended the cybersecurity program, according to a report later presented to the institution’s Plenary: Ángel Valentín Díaz, director of Civil Security; Ana Margarita Gómez Pontón, deputy director of the Institutional Management Monitoring Unit; and Major General Juan Carlos Jiménez, deputy head of the Electoral Military Police.
Per diem three times UN reference
The US$800 daily allowance was significantly higher than the reference established by the United Nations for León.
For July 2025, the UN International Civil Service Commission had set a daily allowance of US$259 for the rest of Spain, covering accommodation, meals and incidental expenses. The JCE allowance was therefore approximately 3.1 times the UN reference.
Diario Libre notes that the comparison does not mean the JCE is legally required to follow UN rates, but provides an international benchmark for assessing the amount paid to its officials.
The report also found that the European Union’s rules for official missions in Spain establish an ordinary maximum of €255 per day, including accommodation, although these rules do not apply to the JCE.
Broader international travel expenses
The León mission was the most expensive among the international trips reported by the JCE in response to Diario Libre’s public information request.
Between January 2025 and July 2026, the electoral authority reported 71 individual official trips abroad, with total spending of US$529,438.19, or approximately RD$32.3 million, including per diem, pocket expenses and airfare.
Following the Spain trip, the Dominican delegation presented a report to the JCE Plenary. However, the minutes from August 28, 2025, do not identify specific benefits or actions resulting from the mission; they only record that the Plenary took note of the report.
The spending has prompted calls for greater transparency and a clearer link between international missions and measurable results.
Javier Ubiera, Fuerza del Pueblo’s delegate to the JCE, said international travel may be justified by the institution’s responsibilities, but expenses should meet standards of efficiency and be supported by concrete results.
Tácito Perdomo, delegate of the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), likewise called for the purposes and outcomes of official trips to be examined and said the JCE should provide the corresponding explanations.
The information was supplied by the JCE to Diario Libre in response to a public information request covering international missions between January 2025 and July 2026.
