Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04SANTODOMINGO2968
2004-05-18 23:27:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN ELECTION #51: LEONEL SWEEPS THE ELECTION

Tags:  PGOV DR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 002968 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/PPC AND DRL
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
LABOR FOR ILAB
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH
DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI; SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTION #51: LEONEL SWEEPS THE ELECTION

REF: A. (A) SANTO DOMINGO 2933 (NOTAL)


B. (B) SANTO DOMINGO 2525

C. (C) SANTO DOMINGO 2294

D. (D) SANTO DOMINGO 2722

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 002968

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/PPC AND DRL
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
LABOR FOR ILAB
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH
DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI; SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTION #51: LEONEL SWEEPS THE ELECTION

REF: A. (A) SANTO DOMINGO 2933 (NOTAL)


B. (B) SANTO DOMINGO 2525

C. (C) SANTO DOMINGO 2294

D. (D) SANTO DOMINGO 2722


1. This is no. 51 in our series on the Dominican presidential
election:

ELECTION RETURNS: LEONEL SWEEPS THE ELECTION

Leonel Fernandez Reyna, former president (1996-2000) and PLD
candidate in the May 16 election, won a sweeping electoral
victory May 16 and is scheduled to be inaugurated August 16
as President for another four-year term, along with Vice
President-elect Rafael Alburquerque. In a final result
consistent with pre-election polls, with all 12,203 precincts
reporting, Fernandez and Alburquerque obtained 57.11 percent
(2,063,871 votes); runner-up President Hipolito Mejia (PRD)
33.65 percent (1,215,928); Eduardo Estrella 8.65 percent
(312,493); and minor candidates 0.59 percent (21,408).
Turnout, as in previous Dominican elections, was high --
3,613,700 voters, nearly 73 percent of the 5,020,703 on the
rolls. The PLD ticket won in 29 of the country's 32
provinces.

The election proceeded normally and calmly in most places,
but according to the local press violent incidents left three
persons dead and 11 injured. These incidents added to a
previous toll of deaths and injuries during the campaign.
(Septel reports further on behavior and atmosphere during the
election.)

Timely Concession by Mejia
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

President Mejia publicly conceded the outcome shortly after
11:00 p.m. on election night, five hours after the polls
closed. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) had as of that
time released a single report, based on returns from only 2.8
percent of the polling stations. The major political parties
had computed their own preliminary results, taken from
reports of their poll watchers. Election observers of the OAS
and "Participacion Ciudadana" (PC) made "quick count"
estimates of the returns, and one polling firm conducted an
exit poll. A Penn Shoen exit poll was given to international
media at around 9 p.m. All tallies Fernandez and
Alburquerque winning on the first round, with the following
percentages: OAS, 58.25 percent; PC, 56.57 percent; and exit
poll, 56.8 percent.

Favorable Reactions, Criticisms
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

International observers, including those provided by the OAS,
International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES),and
Lima Accord (who came in conjuntion with the National
Democratic Institute - NDI),commented positively to the
press about the organization and conduct of the election.
Former president of Colombia Andres Pastrana, who headed the
IFES mission, congratulated the Dominican people for having
carried out a clean, transparent voting process with high
participation. They and other observers also commended Mejia
for promptly recognizing Fernandez as the winner, setting a
democratic example and forestalling any unrest. OAS mission
chief Santiago Murray criticized bureaucratic procedures for
having slowed collection and announcement of returns, and
promised to deliver written recommendations for improvements.
Lima Accord representatives called for controls on
candidates' media use and campaign financing.

Priorities for New Administration
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

President-elect Fernandez, who during the campaign had
criticized the rise in foreign debt in President Mejia's term
(2000-2004),told the press May 17 that he planned to comply
with the Dominican Republic's international financial
obligations, including honoring sovereign bonds. He said he
expected to stabilize the peso-dollar exchange rate to lower
domestic consumer prices. Fernandez proposed a "government
of national unity" and expressed a desire for good relations
between the PLD and the ruling PRD, soon to be in the
opposition. His mandate from the voters, he said, would be
"to confront the economic and social crisis that affects the
country." Fernandez promised to appoint a transition team to
work with the current authorities during the three-month
transition.

Fernandez's Background and Platform
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We review Fernandez's background in Ref A. Of all the
candidates, he made the most detailed proposals for economic
recovery -- in speeches (Ref B),in a 150-page PLD platform
(Ref C),and in a think tank study on the economic "model" to
follow (Ref D). The proposals generally emphasized economic
stability and incentives for private business development.
The PLD platform also called for strengthening of the rule of
law and the nation's political, administrative, and judicial
institutions.



2. Drafted by Bainbridge Cowell.


3. This report and others in our election series can be read
on the SIPRNET at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ index.cfm along
with extensive other current material.
HERTELL