7th June 2024
President Luis Abinader has secured a second term in office after securing victory in the first round of the election.
Abinader, who turns 57 this year, secured 57% of the vote, decisively avoiding a runoff with his nearest competitor, Leonel Fernández, a former three-term President, who won 29% of the votes according to the Dominican Republic’s national electoral authority.
“I accept the trust placed in me, I will not let you down,” said Abinader after the results were announced. He called for the country to come together “without distinction, without sectarianism and without party colours”.
A former tourism executive, Abinader ascended to power four years ago with a pledge to combat corruption. He held a commanding lead heading into the election as challengers failed to diminish his popularity with voters.
“In general, the electoral process was carried out correctly, openly and democratically,” said Luis Fortuno, a former governor of Puerto Rico who was deployed as an international observer.
After his victory, President Abinader called for a meeting with his two closest runner ups in the election, Leonel Fernandez (Fuerza del Pueblo) and Abel Martinez (Dominican Liberation Party) for talks on how to move forward with important election issues.
Abel Martinez, who received 10.39% of the vote in the election, promptly agreed to meet and pledged his support for bills benefiting the collective good. Although Fernandez initially agreed to a meeting, he later announced an indefinite postponement.
“The country expects its leaders to have the ability to sit down and talk and seek consensual solutions to the challenges we face. The indefinite postponement of this meeting may send the wrong message to citizens, suggesting that partisan differences continue to prevail over the national interest,” read a statement from a Presidential spokesperson in response to the postponement.
Meanwhile, Former President Danilo Medina announced that he will not seek re-election as president of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) in the next party convention now slated for 30 June 2024. This follows an internal meeting initiated to reorganize after a poor performance in the 2024 general elections. Presidential candidate Abel Martinez underperformed, and the PLD did not win any Senate seats, losing primarily to the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM).
Despite this, President Abinader has signalled his intent to carry on with his tough stance on migration from Haiti which seems to have garnered approval from the voting population.
Since taking office, Abinader has overseen the construction of a 164km (102-mile) concrete wall along the border with Haiti to control illegal migration. Aljazeera also reported that more than 250,000 migrants were deported in 2023, despite international pressure for the country to welcome more refugees.
“The policies he’s implemented, how he’s cracked down, closed the border and built a wall, I feel like it’s a good initiative to control the problem of Haitian migration,” said a voter after the election, arguing that the steps taken have improved the safety of ordinary Dominicans.
Quoted in a New York Times article, Dominican political analyst, Rosario Espinal argued that while President Abinader could have secured a second term by just focusing on fighting corruption, he could not have done so “the margins that he wants”. “He needed to find a new topic that would resonate… He found that in migration,” Espinal asserted.
Apart from migration, Abinader now faces decisions on how to use his political capital, potentially tackling constitutional or fiscal reforms, and improving public services.
He has previously supported constitutional reform to ensure the attorney general’s independence but has publicly opposed changing the two-term limit for presidents. Fiscal reform is another priority, as the government consistently runs a deficit, though tax increases are unpopular.
Abortion laws remain stringent, with no exceptions currently allowed, despite past efforts for reform. Improving education, health, housing, and transportation services is critical, as is maintaining anti-corruption efforts, a cornerstone of Abinader’s initial rise to power.
Finally, the PRM must select a successor for the 2028 elections, a process in which Abinader will be influential, potentially facing internal party challenges.
This is a lead article from Caribbean Insight, The Caribbean Council’s flagship fortnightly publication. From The Bahamas to French Guiana, each edition consists of country-by-country analysis of the leading news stories of consequence, distilling business and political developments across the Caribbean into a single must-read publication. Please follow the links on the right-hand side of this page to subscribe, or access a free trial.
Photo: (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)