A.M. Speaking of regulations

[NewsWhore]

The plan to establish a set of rules and regulations aimed at controlling political activities in the run-up to an election has been posted on the Central Electoral Board's website, www.jce.do (http://www.jce.do). According to Adriano Tejada, today's Diario Libre A.M. editorialist, these are some of the regulations: No asking people not to vote. Corrections must be made by newspapers on anything the political parties feel is incorrect. If there is a dispute, the issue will be settled by the JCE Contentious Chamber, not in the regular courts. Official propaganda cannot promote any given candidate. There will be no political propaganda in government offices. There are to be no inaugurations or start-ups of social programs in the 30 days before an election. The JCE will create a list of pollsters, and only those on the list can publish the results of polls. No polls can be published in the five days previous to an election. Polls can be taken at voting places - exit polls - but the results cannot be publicized until the final JCE count is given. Media that publish polls outside the limits placed by the JCE will have to pay for any correction made by the JCE count. Ninety days before the elections, the political parties must submit their budgets for campaign expenses. The highest budget submitted will be the expense limit for all the parties. Tejada, known for his somewhat sardonic humor, points out that his readers can see that the regulations are full of good intentions on the road to Hell. As a lawyer, Tejada also says that some of the rules are outside the law and predicts that if the regulations are approved by the parties, a lot of people will challenge the ruling.

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