Sawt Falasteen - Dominicans vote for president in poll overshadowed by Haiti crisis

The two nations share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but the much more prosperous Dominican Republic stands in stark contrast to its poverty and gang violence-plagued neighbor.

The volatility across the border has been a key issue in the election campaign, but Abinader, 56, also boasts success in managing the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dominican democracy, the president said after casting his vote in the capital Santo Domingo, "will emerge strengthened."

Opinion polls showed Abinader leading his closest rival Leonel Fernandez -- a 70-year-old three-time ex-president -- with about 60 percent of voter support compared to 25 percent.

Abinader is a US-trained economist of Lebanese descent and multi-millionaire heir of a family tourism and construction empire.

There are nine candidates in total, and a win with more than 50 percent of the vote is required to avoid a runoff.

"We are confident," said Fernandez after voting, despite the seemingly long odds.

Polls opened at 7:00 am (1100 GMT) and closed 10 hours later, with results expected later Sunday in the race for the presidency as well as members of Congress.

Within minutes of the vote closing, Fernandez's Fuerza del Pueblo and another opposition grouping accused the ruling party of "massive vote buying."

The electoral board, however, said it had not received any formal complaint.

- 'Things can improve' -

Abinader was elected amid the pandemic in 2020 on promises of restoring trust in the government after several high-profile corruption scandals embroiling public officials in the top tourist destination.

In office, he began building a 164-kilometer (102-mile) concrete wall along the border with Haiti to keep out undocumented migrants.

He had more than 250,000 migrants deported in 2023.

The president enjoys domestic approval ratings of around 70 percent -- more than when he was elected -- despite international pressure for the Dominican Republic to welcome more refugees.

The migration issue has not been a divisive one in the election, with both Fernandez and Abinader backing the deportation of Haitian migrants and increased border security.

Voter Javier Taveras, 38, told AFP on election day that he "likes the current position of maintaining sovereignty," though not "the abuse against our Haitian brothers."

As for the border wall, "I don't know how effective it is," he said.

A Gallup poll showed 47.5 percent of Dominicans believe the country was "on the right path" and 40 percent believed the economy is doing better than before.

"Look how tourism is going, which is the best source of work for us... the roads built, those people in need who now have health insurance," Abinader voter Maria Ramona Antonio, a 74-year-old dentist, told AFP in Santo Domingo.

Jonas Mancebo, a 32-year-old merchant, said he had voted for Fernandez because "many things can improve."

Fernandez has accused the government of manipulating growth data. The World Bank reports that the Dominican economy grew 2.5 percent in 2023.

Abinader has said voting for Fernandez would mean a return to corruption.

"I hope for economic stability from the next government," said voter Taveras.

Opinion polls also showed Abinader's Modern Revolutionary Party bound for a majority in Congress.

The party won 120 of 150 mayoral posts in February municipal elections, considered a litmus test ahead of the general vote.

More than eight million people are eligible to cast ballots in the country of some 11.2 million inhabitants.

A.AlHaj--SF-PST