The Dominican Republic will hold presidential elections on Friday. The following are some key facts about the polls in the Caribbean nation.
The Dominican Republic, which covers an area of 48,734 square km, is located in the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, which lies between Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. The country has the only international border with Haiti, to the west.
The country has a population of 9.5 million, mostly a mixture of European and African origin.
All Dominican citizens over 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Some5.76 million people have registered to choose their new president and vice president, whose term will run from August 2008 to August 2012. Voting opens at 06:00 local time (0200 GMT) and ends at 18:00 local time (1400 GMT) on Friday.
Under the 1966 constitution, amended in 1994, executive power rests with the president, who is to be elected by direct popular vote for a term of four years.
The candidate will have to garner more than 50 percent of the vote to win the presidency. If there is no outright winner, a runoff vote will be held after 45 days between the two leading candidates.
Seven candidates are competing for the presidency, with the incumbent president, Leonel Fernandez, and his main rival Miguel Vargas Maldonado as the front runners.
A latest opinion poll showed that Fernandez from the Dominican Liberation Party would win 56 percent of the vote in the first round, while Vargas from the Dominican Revolutionary Party would get 37 percent.
Amable Aristy Castro from the Social Christian Reformist Party is in third place with 5 percent.
The other four candidates are Eduardo Estrella from Cuarta Via coalition, Guillermo Moreno from the leftist Independence Unity and Change Movement, Trajano Santana from the Independent Revolutionary Party and Pedro de Jesus Candelirer from the Popular Alliance.
Some 42,000 police and soldiers have been deployed across the country for the elections. There are also some 200 international observers.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article