There is a sense of relief that it’s all over. As the electoral bulletins trickle in, it seems the DR will not be subject to another month of election campaigning. This means the RD$100+million budgeted for the second round can be put to better use. Back to work. While the Junta Central Electoral has not issued its final opinion, it appears that 59-year old outspoken Hipólito Mejía will be the next President of the Dominican Republic come 16 August 2000. He proclaimed himself winner of the election at midnight and proposed to create a government of national unity capturing for his cabinet the best men and women of the nation. On Wednesday, he visited the tomb of the late PRD president, José Francisco Peña Gómez and then visited with former President Joaquín Balaguer for half an hour. It is obvious he won with the strong vote of the PRD, plus the support of lower-income voters throughout the nation that voted to get back to basics. Political analysts comment Mejía benefited from the late alliance with Rafael Corporán de los Santos. The PRD also capitalized on the lukewarm campaign carried out by former Vice President Jacinto Peynado, chosen at last minute by PRSC candidate Joaquín Balaguer. The PLD failed to ride the wave of the government’s popularity. The poor performance is attributed to the lack of charisma of the PLD candidate, Danilo Medina and the PLD being perceived as a party of an elite. The JCE at 2 pm issued its 11th bulletin that showed the PRD and its allies ahead with 49.89% of the vote. To win in the first round, an absolute majority is needed, or 50%+1 of the vote. The PLD and the PRSC are practically tied with 24.84% and 24.68% respectively. The JCE announced the suspension of its bulletins until 5 pm. If the preliminary results are confirmed, it would be the first time in many years that the same political party has majority in the Congress, the municipalities and the Executive Branch. Furthermore, Hipólito Mejía makes it to the presidency without having to make an alliance with the PRSC, as the PLD did in 1996. Interestingly, none of the polls accurately predicted the outcome. Hipólito Mejía and Milagros Ortiz Bosch proclaimed themselves winners last night after receiving the first computerized reports from their own computer center. The PLD and the PRSC complained that only the JCE could offer results on the election, and that the PRD candidate had violated an agreement to this end subscribed to by the parties. The election for the most part were uneventful. The only death reported occurred when Lucia Moronta, 79-year-old woman, died when in line at Los Alcarrizos voting station. It was reported she suffered a heart attack. Voters in hundreds of stations had to endure standing in line under the blazing sun. President Leonel Fernandez voted at his childhood neighborhood Villa Juana. Former President Joaquín Balaguer voted inside his car after the vehicle arrived at the Huacal government offices voting table. Hipólito Mejía voted at the National Archives, that is located near his home. The JCE failed in its forecast to have 80% of the results before midnight. By 2 am, only 50% of the votes had been counted. The JCE voting started two and three hours after the preset time, which resulted in delays at the time of counting votes. Preliminary count reports of the political parties, as well as civic organizations nevertheless spread by cellular throughout the nation, and by 10 pm, the expected outcome was known. Santiago Murray, chief of the OAS observer group, called the Dominican election successful and said that Dominicans attended enmasse and with much enthusiasm. Bulletin #11, the most up to date available as of 2 pm shows the following results: PRD and Allies: PARTIDO REVOLUCIONARIO DOMINICANO (PRD): 1,386,434 votes (44.87%) PARTIDO DE LA UNIDAD DEMOCRATICA (UD): 60,006 votes (1.94%) PARTIDO REVOLUCIONARIO INDEPENDIENTE (PRI): 18,376 votes (0.59%) PARTIDO QUISQUEYANO DEMOCRATA (PQD): 50,681 votes (1.64%) PARTIDO NACIONAL DE VETERANOS Y CIVILES (PNVC): 6,854 votes (0.22%) PARTIDO DEMOCRATA POPULAR (PDP): 11,457 votes (0.37%) PARTIDO ALIANZA SOCIAL DOMINICANA (ASD): 8,151 votes (0.26%) Total: PRD/UD/PRI/PQD/PNVC/PDP/ASD alliance: 1,541,959 votes /49.89% PARTIDO DE LA LIBERACION DOMINICANA (PLD): 725,542 votes (23.48%) BLOQUE INSTITUCIONAL SOCIAL DEMOCRATA (BIS): 41,899 votes (1.36%) Total: PLD/BIS alliance: 767,441 votes /24.84% PARTIDO REFORMISTA SOCIAL CRISTIANO (PRSC): Total PRSC 762,558 votes (24.68%) PARTIDO DE LOS TRABAJADORES DOMINICANOS (PTD): 5,917 votes (0.19%) PARTIDO NUEVA ALTERNATIVA (LA ALTERNATIVA): 5,720 votes (0.19%) MOVIMIENTO DE UNIDAD E INTEGRACION DOMINICANA (UNIDO): 3,178 votes (0.10%) PARTIDO RENACENTISTA NACIONAL (PRN): 3,131 votes (0.10%) In the Dominican Republic, 2,133,297 women (50.18%) and 2,117,921 men (49.82%) were able to vote or 4,251,218. Of these 3,137,019 votes were cast, or 73.79%. That is, only one out of every four Dominicans chose not to vote. Of the total of votes, 98.5% of the votes were valid (3,089,904 votes), 1.47% (46,033 votes) were annulled, and 0.03% (1,082 votes) were observed. As of Bulletin #11, 96.98% of the voting stations had been counted. For official electoral coverage, see http://www.jce.do For further background information explaining how the parties did, see http://www.dr1.com/daily/news051500.shtml
