Dominicans Reelect President Leonel Fernández

Dominican President Leonel Fernández was reelected with more than 53% of the vote in national elections that took place on Friday without any major incidents, according to the Dominican Electoral Commission (JCE).  

The Dominican president will take up a third term of office on August 16. Incumbent President Fernández secured a majority of votes on the first round of balloting for his political party…

The Dominican president will take up a third term of office on August 16. Incumbent President Fernández secured a majority of votes on the first round of balloting for his political party, the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and its 11 allies.

With 81.50% of the votes counted, opposition candidate Miguel Vargas Maldonado of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) had garnered 40.93%.  Amable Aristy Castro from the Christian Social Reform Party (PRSC) came in third with 4.5% of the votes.

The PRD candidate conceded defeat in a brief speech before a group of supporters in his campaign headquarters.

President Fernández addressed the Dominican public just after midnight to congratulate people for their calm behavior during the polling. He then announced that it was the moment to reunite the country “to continue confronting the challenges and goals we face.”

Fernández dedicated his party’s electoral triumph to its leader and PLD founder, Dominican writer Juan Bosch and PLD leader Quilvio Cabrera who recently perished in an automobile accident while campaigning around the country.
In the sixth news bulletin released by the Electoral Commission, the PLD and its political allies had received 1,754,308 votes; the PRD and its allies, 1,191,520, or 41.05% of the electorate.

The PLD received 1,469,781 votes for 44.51%; the Alliance for Democracy (APD) received 65,558 or 1.99%; the Institutional Block (BIS) 41,068 representing 1.24%.

Other parties supporting the incumbent include the National Unity Party (PUN) which received 10,231 votes for 0.31%; the Dominican Workers Party (PTD) 24,721, for 0.75% and the Quisqueyano Christian Democratic Party (PQDC) with 31,498 for 0.95% of the electorate.

The Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD) obtained 16,792 votes, for 0.51%; the Christian Democratic Union Party (UDC) 31,343, for 0.95%, as well as the National Renaissance Party (PRN) with 9,133, or 0.28% of the electorate.

The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) gave Fernández’s candidacy 6,266 votes, or 0.19%; the Popular Christian Party (PPC) 28,130 amounting to 0.55%; the Progressive National Force (FNP) 39,778 representing 1.20% of the electorate.

The PRD supported Vargas Maldonado with 1,287, 615 votes, representing 39% of the total votes counted when the 6th bulletin was released with 20% of the votes still uncounted.

The United Democratic Green Party (VUD) supported Vargas Maldonado with 25,205 votes or 0.76%; the Dominican Social Alliance (ASD) with 13,089 or 0.40% and the  Alternative Democratic Movement (Moda), garnered 25,352 or 0.67% of the vote.

The Christian Social Reformist Party (PRSC), whose candidate was Amable Aristy Castro, won 149,772 votes amounting to 4.54% of the total.

In this bulletin, the candidate Eduardo Estrella, from the Social Democratic Revolutionary Party and its allies, won 15,808 votes, or 0.48%; Guillermo Moreno, of the Independent Movement for Unity and Change won 14,663 votes for 0.44%.

Pedro de Jesús Candelier, of the Popular Action Party (PAP), won 4,759 votes, for 0.14% of the vote.  Trajano Santana, of the Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI) pulled in 1,195 at the time of the 6th bulletin, representing 0.04% of the total.

These results were from the 10,656 polling areas in school around the country from the total of 13,075.  There were still 2,419, or 18.50% to be counted. Total valid votes reached some 3,301,966.

JCE President Julio César Castaños Guzmán congratulated the Dominican people for the calm exhibited throughout the voting process saying that people displayed exemplary behavior. He added that the entire process was carried out on the level of all civilized nations of the world.  

First Bulletin at 10:00 p.m.

“The elections are over and now it is time to unite and confront these goals and challenges as one nation,” ..

The head of the Electoral Commission (JCE), Julio César Castaños Guzmán, in a solemn speech, released the first bulletin at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, taking the opportunity to congratulate the Dominican people for the exemplary conduct they displayed during the voting process.

“We can celebrate tomorrow and Sunday but on Monday we will be back to work again,” stressed President Fernández, elected to remain in his third term of office. He spoke to jubilant supporters and party and government officials who were, only minutes before, singing and dancing to the merengue rhythm of: “Esta pela ‘ta” and “ruge, ruge el león”.

Fernández, who arrived at the National House with the First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, called for unity among all Dominicans, without splits or factions, to work together for “the consolidation of stability and progress.”

“The elections are over and now it is time to unite and confront these goals and challenges as one nation,” said the president who was sharing the stage with traditional PLD leaders such as Reinaldo Pared Pérez. Also accompanying the president was the former leader of the Christian Social Reformist Party, now in the PLD, Héctor Rodríguez Pimentel and the Vice President Rafael Alburquerque.