Dominicans faced a dizzying array of choices yesterday in one of the most complex ballots in recent history, with eight candidates for president, all 222 members of the Dominican Congress up for re-election and thousands of people vying for local offices across the country.
For many voters it amounts to a referendum on whether to let Dominican President Danilo Medina’s Democratic Liberation Party (PLD) extend its political dominance after winning four of the last five presidential elections and controlling both the Dominican Senate and Chamber of Deputies for a decade.
Polls forecast that Medina, 64, is not only likely win the day but could take more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff against his nearest rival, Luis Abinader, a businessman. That is due in part to the fact that the opposition is divided and weaker than during the last election, in 2012, which was much closer.
Photo: EPA
Medina also benefits from an economy that grew 7 percent last year, better than any other country in Latin America or the Caribbean, and increased funding for social programs that have strong popular support. Medina’s government has built about 2,500 new schools, lengthened the school day to provide more classes and promoted literacy and vocational training for adults.
Abinader, 48, ran for vice president in 2012 but has never held elective office.
On the campaign trail he vowed to spend more on a system of social programs that provide payments to nearly 1 million poor families.
He also said he would reduce crime, a principal concern in the country, and hike pay for police and the armed forces as well raise the national minimum wage.
Clad in the purple and gold colors of the PLD at a final campaign rally Friday, college student Raysa Montero said the president deserves credit for developing the country and expanding education.
“Danilo is the hope for the country,” she said.
However, others feel the ruling party, which passed a constitutional amendment letting Medina run for a second consecutive term, has been allowed to amass too much power.
“We’re fed up. The PLD controls everything,” said Rafael de Jesus, a mechanic and father of two who was planning to vote for Abinader.
De Jesus also said that the party has been able to pack the bench with friendly judges, adding: “They want everything.”
Electoral authorities said nearly 7 million people are expected to vote including thousands in the US, mostly in large Dominican enclaves in New York and Florida.
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