{"id":8624,"date":"2024-05-19T18:49:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T22:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=8624"},"modified":"2024-05-19T18:49:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-19T22:49:16","slug":"dominicans-await-results-of-general-elections-with-eyes-on-crisis-in-neighboring-haiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=8624","title":{"rendered":"Dominicans Await Results of General Elections with Eyes on Crisis in Neighboring Haiti"},"content":{"rendered":"
Haitians cross the border into Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, May 17, 2024. As violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. (AP Photo\/Matias Delacroix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Voters in the Dominican Republic cast ballots Sunday in general elections likely to reinforce the government\u2019s crackdown on its shared border with Haiti<\/a><\/span> and the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence-stricken nation.<\/p>\n

The frontrunner was President Luis Abinader, seeking reelection as one of the most popular leaders<\/a><\/span> in the Americas. He needed to top 50% of the votes to win outright and avoid a runoff election.<\/p>\n

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Trailing him were former President Leonel Fern\u00e1ndez and Mayor Abel Mart\u00ednez.<\/p>\n

Dominicans also voted in legislative elections. Voting centers closed at 5 p.m., with first results expected a few hours later.<\/p>\n

Many of the 8 million eligible voters are still traumatized by an electoral authority decision to suspend the 2020 municipal elections due to a technical glitch. Abelardo Ubr\u00ed Antomarche, a teacher who lives in capital city of Santo Domingo, was one of the first to vote shortly after 7 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to vote, no matter how,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While opposition parties reported a number of small irregularities, voting largely ran smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDominican democracy is strong and will come out stronger from this process,\u201d Abinader told journalists Sunday.<\/p>\n

Abinader\u2019s anti-corruption agenda and push to grow the Dominican Republic\u2019s economy has resonated with many of the 8 million voters in the Caribbean nation. Much of his popularity, however, has been fueled by the government\u2019s harsh crackdown on Haitians and the border the Dominican Republic shares with its crisis-stricken neighbor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis migratory problem worries me, because we\u2019re seeing a massive migration from our neighbor and it feels like it\u2019s out of control,\u201d said Perla Concepci\u00f3n, a 29-year-old secretary, adding that migration was her main concern as she takes to the polls.<\/p>\n

The Dominican Republic has long taken a hard line stance with Haitian migrants, but such policies have ramped up since Haiti entered a free fall following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Mo\u00efse. As gangs have terrorized Haitians, the Dominican government has built a Trump-like border wall along its 250-mile (400-kilometer) border. He has also repeatedly urged the United Nations to send an international force to Haiti, saying such action \u201ccannot wait any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government has also rejected calls to build refugee camps for those fleeing the violence and carried out mass deportations of 175,000 Haitians last year, according to government figures. While the policy is popular among voters, it has provoked sharp criticisms from human rights organizations<\/a><\/span> who call it racist and a violation of international law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese collective expulsions are a clear violation of the Dominican Republic\u2019s international obligations and put the lives and rights of these people at risk. Forced returns to Haiti must end,\u201d Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, wrote in an April report.<\/p>\n

– Mart\u00edn Adames Alc\u00e1ntara, AP News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voters in the Dominican Republic cast ballots Sunday in general elections likely to reinforce the government\u2019s crackdown on its shared border with Haiti and the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence-stricken nation. The frontrunner was President Luis Abinader, seeking reelection as one of the most popular leaders in the Americas. He needed to top 50% of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":8625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com\/2news.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/e\/7a\/e7a7d614-63e9-54d6-8323-4ace74f0bbdf\/66497ad179438.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500","fifu_image_alt":"Dominicans Await Results of General Elections with Eyes on Crisis in Neighboring Haiti","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polity-governance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8626,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624\/revisions\/8626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}