By Esteban Cabrera
New York: Dr. Yomare Polanco accused this Friday the judges of the Central Electoral Board (J.C.E.), Román Andrés Jáquez Liranzo, Rafael Armando Vallejo Santelises, and Samir Rafael Chami Isa, of having given his case a political use in that body to each one favoring himself making a joke with sectors of power in the Dominican Republic to win political favors and be rewarded with the extension of their seats in the J.C.E. beyond 2024 when they must cease their functions. The statements were made on the “En Portada” program, produced by journalist Manuel Ruiz.
Samir Rafael Chami Isa
“Samir Rafael Chami Isa, in reality it is not what has been believed. He reached that position of judge of the J.C.E. as an honorable citizen, member of Civil Society; but that was an appearance, just that. Samir Isa actually came to occupy that position in the electoral body imposed by the political power, he represents the interests of the ruling party, that is why he is there, because of that political grace he has agreed to deny a just, honest cause and attached to the interests of the society. He is a man from Hipólito Mejía, it is to that political line that he responds, that is why he has hindered within the J.C.E. the possibility of imparting justice to the electoral fraud of which I was a victim in 2020 and for which the former officials have not been sent to justice of that organization accused of participating in the economic embezzlement of almost $5 million dollars of the funds from the last Dominican elections abroad,” said DR. Yomare Polanco.
Polanco said that Samir had deceived the Dominican people by presenting himself as a distinguished member of Civil Society when he was in that plenary session to contaminate the justice processes that were taking place there to favor his friend Hipólito Mejía. He added that his statements are not against Hipólito, whom he considers himself a friend, but that it is a truth that the diaspora and Dominican society should know.
Rafael Armando Vallejo Santelises
Polanco said that magistrate Rafael Armando Vallejo Santelises is also in that position to protect former J.C.E. officials, Dr. Julio César Castaños Guzmán, former president of the plenary session, and engineer Gilberto Antonio Regil Cruz Herasme, Voting Manager. Dominican Abroad and those in charge of the OPREEs-OCLEEs were implicated in the accusations of electoral fraud and economic embezzlement without anything having happened.
“The reason why the J.C.E. has not acted in the submission of those charged in the crimes committed by the plenary past, is due to the actions of the powerful influence exerted by these sectors through magistrate Rafael Vallejo Santelises,” added Polanco.
“They stole a deputation and almost 5 million dollars, and they negotiated it out of impunity, the basic reason why they still enjoy protection today, thanks to the cover-up of magistrate Vallejo Santelises, who defends in that body the thieves of almost 5 million dollars. Of electoral funds. All these acts of vandalism affected the results of a delegation awarded to a usurper (Kenia Bidó), who today the diaspora calls the de facto deputy.
Roman Andres Jaquez Liranzo
“The president of the current plenary session of the J.C.E. is directly involved in the cover-up of the alleged crimes of the former officials, accused of money laundering, embezzlement of almost $5 million dollars, burning invalid votes, contaminating the chain of custody, association of criminals, among other serious crimes, just to curry favor with shadowy sectors of power in the Dominican Republic to curry favor with them to see if they leave for another period, that is, instead of retiring after the elections in the 2024, they intend to sell themselves to be extended in plenary until 2028”, he said.
Román Jáquez has managed this new board under the same parameters of the full past; it continues to be a corrupt J.C.E. intervened by partisan interests, and it continues to be a board as evil as the last one. One only has to look at the fact that Román Jáquez set up the extremely expensive law firm “Nicole R. Duclos Covington & Burling, L.L.P.,” to defend the former corrupt officials in the case: Case 2:22-cv-02598-ER Document 94 -1 Filed 03/04/23. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, spending millions of pesos from the taxpayers of poor people like the Dominicans instead of bringing these possible offenders to justice, as mandated by the Dominican penal code,” explained Dr. Yomare Polanco.
He said that magistrates Román Andrés Jáquez Liranzo, president of the J.C.E., Rafael Armando Vallejo Santelises, Full Member, and Samir Rafael Chami Isa, Full Member, could face criminal proceedings in the United States under the rigor of the “R.I.C.O.” Law. This possibility is being studied by their lawyers, based on the alleged conspiracy of these three magistrates to protect the former officials of the full past, which would leave them unable to continue, from that moment on, holding the honorable positions they have today.
“It is not true that these three magistrates can stay to administer the electoral process of 2024 because, with their actions, they have disqualified themselves from managing those elections because they could cause an institutional crisis similar to or worse than that of February 2020 with the fraud of municipal elections.
“Where are the almost 5 million dollars embezzled that the investigation of the newspaper El Faro Latino revealed? Who has been imprisoned as a consequence of all these crimes? Nobody, because there is a collusion to protect those crimes and make sure there are no consequences”, Yomare Polanco questioned.
