Major parties aim to strip women’s right to elected posts: Minority candidate

Santo Domingo.- The presidential candidatefor a coalition of minority parties on Friday demanded that all political partiesstrictly comply with regulation on candidacies reserved for women as stipulatedby law, and demands enforcement by the Central Electoral Board (JCE).

Minou Tavarez Mirabal said she’s opposedto the ruling PLD party’s request and of its ally the PRD that the JCE redistributeby constituency the quota set aside for women.

"To allow that, in practice,violates the purpose of the law that seeks a more equitable participation ofwomen in state management. The parties that make this request convey themessage that they do not trust women’s leadership in their organizations in specificdemarcations," the also independent deputy said.

She said to allow that violationmeans a new assault against the democratic rights, “perpetrated by these oldparties,” which in her view have violated the right of their rank and file to electand be elected. "What a pretty gift these old parties will give womenprecisely in the week we commemorate International Women’s Day."

Tavarez said to continue changingthe law and cutting rights of citizens for politicking convenience isunacceptable.

She demanded that the JCE,especially its president Roberto Rosario, "not be complacent with the PLD party’sre-election once again, and of the traditional party-docracy, because “thus farit has been unwilling to comply with the constitutional mandate to distributethe nominations for deputies by population density and looking the other waywith the misuse of state resources in favor of the President’s candidacy."