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JCE Members Received $24,000 in Per Diem for Spain Trip
Two members of the Dominican Republic's Central Electoral Board received a combined $24,000 in per diem payments during a 15-day trip to Spain in July 2025, with airfare pushing the documented cost of their mission above $33,000.
The Dominican Republic’s Central Electoral Board (JCE) spent at least 2,033,150 Dominican pesos on a 2025 trip to Spain involving two of its members, an amount equivalent to more than 203 public-sector minimum wages based on the comparison reported in institutional records.
Hirayda Fernández and Samir Chami Isa traveled to León, Spain, from July 12 to July 26, 2025. Their mission included participation in the Cybersecurity Summer BootCamp, an international training program focused on strengthening participants’ ability to prevent and respond to cyber threats and computer-related crime.
Per Diem Payments Accounted for Most of the Cost
Each JCE member received $12,000 in per diem payments, calculated at $800 per day for the 15 days recorded by the electoral authority. Together, the allowances totaled $24,000, equivalent to approximately 1,464,000 pesos.
Airfare added another $9,294.27 to the bill. Fernández’s ticket cost $4,649.74, while Chami Isa’s was $4,644.53, bringing the combined documented cost for the two officials to more than $33,000 before considering other expenses associated with the wider delegation.
The duration of the trip also extended beyond the formal BootCamp schedule. The cybersecurity program was held from July 14 to July 24, meaning the two JCE members remained in Spain for four additional days beyond the event’s dates.
Five JCE Officials Attended the Cybersecurity Program
Fernández and Chami Isa were not the only Dominican officials attending the program. The JCE’s subsequent report to its full board also listed Ángel Valentín Díaz, director of Civil Security; Ana Margarita Gómez Pontón, deputy director in charge of the Institutional Management Monitoring Unit; and General Juan Carlos Jiménez, deputy chief of the Electoral Military Police.
The information means the cost of the broader JCE delegation was higher than the 2,033,150 pesos attributed to the two board members’ allowances and airfare. The available figures, however, do not establish the total cost of travel and accommodation for all five participants.
The cybersecurity component is particularly relevant to an electoral authority because digital systems and election-related information can be exposed to cyber threats. The JCE is responsible for administering elections and maintaining key components of the country’s civil and electoral registration systems, making cybersecurity training part of the institution’s broader operational responsibilities.
A Mission Linked to International Cybersecurity Training
The Cybersecurity Summer BootCamp in León is designed for professionals from different fields connected to cybersecurity, including public officials and security personnel. The program provides specialized training intended to strengthen institutional capacity to identify, prevent and respond to digital threats.
For the JCE, participation came as the institution continued work on technology-dependent electoral and civil-registration projects. The board has been involved in preparations for a new national identity and electoral identification system, alongside other efforts involving its electoral and information-technology departments.
The travel figures nevertheless place the focus on the financial cost of the delegation. The combined $24,000 in per diem payments alone represented a substantial public expenditure, while the two airline tickets added nearly $9,300 to the mission.
The reported figures provide the documented cost for Fernández and Chami Isa but do not, on the information available here, establish the complete expense associated with the five-member JCE delegation or indicate whether additional travel-related payments were made.
