Dominican Republic President Abinader wins second time period | Elections Information

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has received a second time period in elections, clinching victory within the first spherical, in keeping with preliminary outcomes.

The massively standard president vowed unity and neutral management as he declared victory after rivals conceded on Sunday night time, having secured a sufficiently vast margin to win with no need to go to a second-round face-off.

Abinader’s win seems to be an endorsement of his dealing with of the financial system and hard insurance policies in the direction of migration from neighbouring Haiti.

With simply over half of voting centres reporting late on Sunday, Abinader held 58.85 p.c of the vote. His closest rival, three-time former President Leonel Fernandez, was sat on 27.29 p.c, preliminary information from electoral authorities confirmed.

Whereas remaining outcomes have been pending, Abinader, 56, had clearly received nicely over the 50 p.c wanted to rule out a run-off election. That prompted Fernandez, and one other rival, Abel Martinez, to concede.

“Right now our nation shines with its personal mild,” Abinader informed supporters on the headquarters of his Fashionable Revolutionary Get together, pledging to function president for all residents.

He known as for a rustic “with out distinction, with out sectarianism and with out occasion colors”.

The re-elected head of state additionally vowed to push via constitutional reform on the continuity of energy that may not depend on the “private whim” of the president in workplace. He pledged that he wouldn’t run once more after finishing his second time period.

Presidents within the Dominican Republic are restricted to 2 phrases of 4 years. Nevertheless, earlier reforms have prolonged presidential mandates.

Whereas opposition events reported numerous small irregularities, voting within the election largely ran easily.

Most of the eight million eligible voters are nonetheless troubled by an electoral authority choice to droop the 2020 municipal elections as a result of a technical glitch, prompting what seems to be a excessive voter turnout.

Voters mentioned they felt happy with the electoral course of, in keeping with Luis Fortuno, a global observer for the election and a former governor of Puerto Rico.

“Basically the electoral course of was carried out accurately, brazenly and democratically,” Fortuno mentioned.

Haitian migrants

One among Latin America’s hottest presidents, Abinader had approval rankings at about 70 p.c, a CID-Gallup ballot confirmed in September.

The election consequence bolstered Abinader’s main insurance policies, which embrace an anticorruption agenda and a crackdown alongside the shared border with Haiti and the expulsion of a whole lot of hundreds of migrants fleeing the violence-stricken neighbour.

Abinader, a US-trained economist of Lebanese descent, was elected throughout the COVID pandemic in 2020 on guarantees of restoring belief within the authorities after a number of high-profile corruption scandals embroiling public officers within the high vacationer vacation spot.

As soon as in workplace, he started constructing a 164km (102-mile) concrete wall alongside the border with Haiti to maintain out undocumented migrants. He had greater than 250,000 migrants deported in 2023, regardless of worldwide strain for the nation to welcome extra refugees.

Voter Willy Soto, 21, was among the many crowd outdoors Abinader’s marketing campaign headquarters. He voiced approval for the migrant crackdown.

Whereas saying he is aware of “the insurance policies towards [Haitians] are very strict”, he informed The Related Press information company that the steps the president has taken are vital in guaranteeing the safety of Dominicans like him.

“This isn’t an issue that will get resolved someday to the subsequent,” Soto mentioned. “The insurance policies he’s applied, how he’s cracked down, closed the border and constructed a wall, I really feel prefer it’s a great initiative to manage the issue of Haitian migration.”

One other voter Javier Taveras, 38, informed the AFP information company that he “likes the present place of sustaining sovereignty,” although not “the abuse towards our Haitian brothers”. As for the border wall, “I don’t know the way efficient it’s,” he mentioned.

Whereas the migrant coverage is standard amongst Dominicans, it has drawn sharp criticisms from human rights teams that decision it racist and a violation of worldwide legislation.