The civic organization Justicia Sin Fronteras has asked the Constitutional Tribunal to suspend a Central Electoral Board regulation that bans the publication of election polls until July 2027.
Harrison Feliz, the president of Justicia Sin Fronteras, filed the request on Friday for a provisional suspension as an urgent constitutional precautionary measure against the regulation's thirteenth article and its paragraphs.
The group wants the Constitutional Tribunal, the highest court for constitutional matters in the Dominican Republic, to halt the measure immediately while it considers the full case.
The Central Electoral Board, the country's national elections authority, issued the regulation in May. It prevents the release of surveys for electoral purposes before the formal start of the pre-campaign in July 2027.
Justicia Sin Fronteras said the rule expands restrictions beyond what is established in Law 20-23. The organization said the ban violates freedom of expression, the right to information and democratic pluralism.
Electoral law limits
The request argued that article 216 of Law 20-23 contains a clear legislative determination that bans publishing and broadcasting election polls only during the eight days before voting.
The group said the law allows polls to be published before that eight-day period, provided they meet generally accepted standards. They argued lawmakers did not leave a gap for the Central Electoral Board to fill at its own discretion.
By banning poll publications in the media until the first Sunday of July 2027, the electoral board took on powers that belong exclusively to lawmakers, Justicia Sin Fronteras said.
The group also asked the Constitutional Tribunal to order the electoral board not to start or continue sanctioning procedures while the suspension is in effect. They requested that the board be barred from imposing penalties, restrictions or other measures against polling companies, media outlets, political organizations, researchers, analysts, broadcasters or citizens based on the challenged article.
Sanctions against ACD Media
The filing noted that the regulation has already been used to start administrative sanctioning procedures against polling companies, which the group said proves the urgency of suspending the rule.
The Central Electoral Board has begun a sanctioning process against the polling firm ACD Media, S.R.L.
The board issued initial charges against the company for allegedly publishing and broadcasting electoral polls outside the legally permitted period, applying the regulation approved in May.
The board's Electoral Administrative Sanctions and Precautionary Measures Unit took the action after the board's plenary ordered an investigation into two opinion studies attributed to ACD Media. The surveys were published on June 1 and July 13 of this year by the Diario Libre newspaper.
Earlier court rulings
The electoral board approved the regulation for registering polling firms and publishing electoral polls on May 22, 2026. The thirteenth article included the ban on disseminating electoral surveys until 2027.
While most political parties supported the regulation, media outlets, legal experts and other groups questioned whether the board had the authority to impose such a restriction through a regulation.
Justicia Sin Fronteras filed an electoral contentious appeal for nullity at the Superior Electoral Tribunal on May 27. The group said the rule exceeded the board's regulatory powers and violated fundamental rights. It requested a precautionary measure that same day to suspend the article.
The Superior Electoral Tribunal declared itself incompetent to hear the case on June 26, 2026, in ruling TSE/0025/2026. The tribunal declined the case and sent the file to the Constitutional Tribunal, which must now decide the conflict.
