Repeated announcements about the new ID card: timeline of changes and projections of the JCE

Santo Domingo.– Since the beginning of 2024 to the present, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) has made several announcements and adjustments regarding the process of renewal and printing of the new identity and electoral card of the Dominican Republic, a key project that has experienced changes in its original schedule.

On January 4, 2024, the JCE reported that the renewal of the ID card would begin on October 26 of that same year, for which the corresponding tenders were convened on January 15 of that same year. However, months later, the calendar was modified.

In August 2024, the electoral body announced that the date scheduled to begin the renewal process would be rescheduled, without establishing a specific day, indicating that the new date would be communicated in due course. Subsequently, in March 2025, the president of the JCE, Román Jáquez Liranzo, reported that the institution planned to conduct pilot tests in September, with the goal of starting the delivery of the new ID card between October and November of that year, and concluding the process in December 2026. On that occasion, he also explained that the Plenary of the JCE was evaluating the possibility of including in the document the citizen’s decision on organ donation.

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During the presentation of the new ID project before the Senate of the Republic, the senator for the province of La Vega, Rogelio Genao, questioned Jáquez Liranzo about the additional information that the electronic chip would contain, beyond the data printed on the document, within the framework of the technological modernization process. Later, on July 29, 2025, the president of the JCE reiterated that the printing of the new ID card was scheduled to begin between October and November 2025, according to the updated institutional schedule. The process took a formal step on October 5, 2025, when the JCE and the EMDOC consortium signed a contract for the supply of equipment, materials, and services necessary for the renewal of the identity card and the identity and electoral card. The agreement establishes that the consortium will guarantee these services for a period of 10 years, in exchange for a total compensation of 3.3 billion pesos, including taxes. This project was preceded by an international public tender, convened in accordance with Law No. 340-06 on Purchases and Contracting, on the 26th and 29th of April of the same year, with the aim of guaranteeing an open, competitive and transparent process. Almost two years after the first official announcement, the new ID project continues to be one of the most observed by citizens, due to the repeated adjustments in the start dates and its direct impact on the civil and electoral identity of Dominicans.