US has ‘occult’ interest in Dominican Republic elections: Top official

Santo Domingo.- Central Electoral Board (JCE) president RobertoRosario on Monday said the US government must state what it demands of DominicanRepublic’s general elections on May 15, and not keep them “occult.”

He said US ambassador James E. Brewster even threatened tocancel his US visa and did so because of his defense of the Dominican people’s interests.

After reiterating being pressed by the US envoy withthreats to cancel his visa, Roberto asked Washington’s representative toexpress their concerns clearly.

He said the JCE’s interest is to respond and make it clearthat in the Dominican Republic things are being done well.

"They should tell us so we can clearly respond becausethere’s also no signaling, it seems that it’s more media than real. So they shouldsay it sincere and clear manner."

He noted, however, that he doesn’t feel pressured, and wouldnever fail to make a decision because of pressure. "On the contrary, it makesme be more firm on my convictions."

When asked whether the Haitian issue has spurred the pressuresfrom abroad, Rosario said, "yes, it has, they are doing it in an occult manner."

"I believe that they should not feel any fear orapprehension, because as far as I know they don’t have candidates or favorite parties,what they want is that things run smoothly, and since they are functioningwell, what they should is to congratulate the Dominican State."