Slander during political campaigns could mean jail

Santo Domingo.- Hopefuls for elective post should measure their words and the messages they post through social networks to avert defamation and slander which can be punished with sentences of up to a year in prison and fines of 500 minimum wages.

Political Parties Law 33-18 bans the spread of negative messages through social networks that tarnish the image of the competitors during primaries.

However, several articles of the ban on negative messages are pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court, where it was appealed by lawyers who deem it unconstitutional.

Also prohibited will be the political promotion through advertising messages placed and transmitted by different media, as well as anonymous propaganda or publication without responsible signatures.

“These actions may be reviewed by the media, provided they are not disseminated with the interest of establishing government programs or public policies aimed at national candidacies, but positioning within their respective organizations,” says the Law on Parties.