The day has arrived! Everything you need to know about the presidential and congressional elections being held in the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo—The electoral authorities are ready for the presidential and legislative elections this Sunday in the Dominican Republic. The preparations were carried out according to the schedule provided by the Central Electoral Board (JCE), the election organizer.
A contingent of 55,000 members of the Armed Forces and the National Police, attached to the Electoral Military Police (PME), is acting under the instructions of the JCE to guarantee the integrity of the materials during the elections’ preparations and the security of the precincts, voters, and workers on Election Day.

Voting Centers

This Sunday, 16,726 polling stations in Dominican territory will open from 7-00 to 17-00 local time (11-00 to 21-00 GMT), and 1,566 centers are enabled abroad in 46 locations in 35 countries, according to the JCE, whose staff focused this Saturday on connecting voting equipment.

Municipal elections: timid participation in voting centers in the C1 of the National District.
Voting centers. Archive
At the Domingo Savio Parish Center, in the Los Guandules sector of Santo Domingo, which houses 41 schools, there has been intense activity this Saturday, as EFE was able to verify while JCE technical personnel were installing the digitalization, scanning, and data transmission (EDET) equipment for voting.

Each of these polling stations has a maximum of 600 voters assigned, according to the precinct coordinator, Manuel Ruiz, who, together with the rest of the staff dedicated to the preparations, are “focused on this installation phase” after receiving the material.

While the activity at the polling stations did not cease during the morning, calls urging people to go to the polls with messages that, in some cases, have attracted attention have not ceased on the eve of the election.

“So… You’re not going to vote because you didn’t go to the salon? They come in tubi (a hairnet widely used by Dominican women), with Bermuda shorts, with flip-flops or flannel (sleeveless garment that men usually wear under their shirts). Go as you want, but go vote,” the JCE posted on its social networks.

No surveys, no alcohol

In another order, the entity recalled in a statement that only “duly certified polling firms will be able to carry out exit polls or polls,” provided that the results are deposited in the JCE “in closed and sealed envelopes and have complied with the required requirements.”

“Exit polls or polls shall be conducted in such a way that they do not violate or violate the right and duty relating to the secrecy of the vote established in this law,” and the data collected may not be disclosed.

A peculiarity of this second day of reflection – the campaign officially concluded on Thursday night – is that the sale of alcohol is prohibited, a restriction ordered by the JCE in compliance with the Organic Law of the Electoral Regime, the Dominican Presidency clarified in a statement.

The regulation stipulates that “from 24 hours before the election, alcoholic beverages may not be sold or distributed in any capacity, until twelve hours after the end of voting,” that is, until noon on Monday, May 20, a measure that “seeks to guarantee order and tranquility during the process.”

A total of 8,145,548 people are called to participate in the process, which will be evaluated by some 2,000 observers, more than 400 from international organizations that have formed 20 missions, and more than 1,500 nationals.

Nine candidates are vying for the presidency for the next four years, although the leading contenders are the current Dominican president, Luis Abinader, who is seeking re-election with the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM, progressive and liberal); former head of state Leonel Fernández, leader of the People’s Force (FP, progressive), who aspires to govern the country for the fourth time, and Abel Martínez, who has held the mayor’s office of Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic, and has presided over the Chamber of Deputies with the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD, progressive).