Santo Domingo: Dominican President Luis Abinader is set to run for re-election on Sunday on the back of support for his tough stance on immigration from troubled neighbor Haiti.
The two countries share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but the more prosperous Dominican Republic is in stark contrast to its neighbour, which has been crippled by months of hardship.
Border instability was a major issue during the election campaign, but Abinader, 56, has also successfully managed the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Polls show his closest rival, 70-year-old former president Leonel Fernandez, with 60 percent of the vote compared to 25 percent.
Billionaire businessman Abinader was elected in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic, promising to restore confidence in the government after several corruption scandals involving civil servants.
At work, he began building a 164-kilometer (102-mile) concrete wall along the border with Haiti to keep out undocumented migrants.
Also, more than 250,000 migrants are expelled in 2023.
The capital, Santo Domingo, and smaller provincial towns were covered in political posters, as Abinader and Fernandes traveled around the country, chanting hundreds of pro-choice slogans and dancing the Dominican merengue.
The opposition supports deporting Haitian migrants and increased border security, and migration is not a divisive issue in the election.
“We have the right to do this,” Fernandes said during an election debate, criticizing international pressure to accept Haitian refugees.
“We will expel illegals,” Abinader said.
A Gallup poll found that 47.5 percent of Dominicans believe the economy is “on the right track” and 40 percent believe the economy is better than ever.
“That’s why people want to give Abinadere a chance.”
Fernandes accused the Abinader government of manipulating development data. The World Bank reports that the economy of the Dominican Republic will grow by 2.5 percent in 2023.
Abinader, for his part, said a vote for Fernandez will return to corruption.
Polls show Abinader’s Modern Revolutionary Party is the must-win for a majority in Congress.
The party won 120 of the 150 mayoral positions in the municipal elections, considered a litmus test before the general election.
Polls open at 7:00 a.m. local time (1100 GMT), with results due Sunday evening.
