No political parties for Dominican Republic’s ´owners´(Update)

Santo Domingo.- TheCentral Electoral Board (JCE) on Tuesday denied political recognition toparticipate in next year´s elections to three organization founded by owners of bus and truck companies known as the “country´sowners” for their often violent strikes with apparent impunity.

Movimiento Rebelde(rebel movement), founded by bus owners association (Fenatrano) president JuanHubieres,Partido la Esperanza, of the truckers association president Blas Peralta and Primero la Gente (people first) founded by Antonio Marte, head of thebus owners association (Conatra), won’t be able to submit candidates for the generalelections next May.

The JCE grantedpolitical recognition to Alianza Pais (Country Alliance) headed by GuillermoMoreno and two municipal movements, while rejecting other requests for failingto meet legal requirements.

Hubieres vowed to stageprotests during the next few days, while Marte said his organization won’t “sitidly by” in the face of such “abuse.”