Rafael Bello Andino, president of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC), swore in Eduardo Estrella as the party?s candidate for the 2004 presidential election. The official final results indicated 192,283 votes for Estrella, for 51.89% of the total share, versus 178,298 votes for Jacinto Peynado, or 48.11%. A total of 370,581 votes were validated, cast at 2,561 voting centers nationwide.
Estrella is said to be something of a political phenomenon, as he zoomed to the frontlines in less than a year. To celebrate his victory, he said he would visit the tomb of former President Joaquin Balaguer at 11 am on Monday.
Bello Andino said that the party commission determined that while there were irregularities in the votes in San Pedro de Macoris, it was not enough to change the results. San Pedro results showed 13,248 votes in favor of Estrella, versus 1,265 for Peynado.