DR1 - Daily Dominican Republic News

Danilo Medina to be next Dominican President

With the 10th bulletin and 99.11% of the vote counted from 14,341 polling stations of a total 14,470, the ruling PLD candidate, Danilo Medina obtained 51.24% of the vote against 46.93% for the PRD candidate, former President Hipolito Mejia. The PLD received 2,302,746 votes, compared to 2,109,123 votes for the PRD.

Of the minority parties, Guillermo Moreno (Alianza Pais) leads with 61,500 votes (1.37%), Eduardo Estrella of Dominicanos por el Cambio with 9,052 (0.20%), Julian Serulle (Frente Amplio) with 6,386 (0.14%) and Max Puig of the APD with 4,981 (0.11%).

According to the 10th bulletin, 4,493,788 Dominicans out of a possible 6,502,968 had voted, a 31% abstention rate. The tenth bulletin was issued at 5:48am and the final one is pending.

The elections day was marked by a massive demonstration of civism, as is usual with the Dominican people. Another major plus this time was the flow of information, and the record-breaking vote count.

While the website of the JCE was many times down, the media maintained the flow of information provided by the bulletins and the live reports on vote counts by district on TV and online.

This was an election of tactics and strategies. The PLD was the big winner, starting from its success in negotiating the changing of the Constitution with the PRD to allow for former Presidents to run again. The previous constitution was similar to the US constitution, where Presidents are only allowed to run for re-election once.

The change allowed President Leonel Fernandez to be the candidate again in 2016 and President Hipolito Mejia to run in 2012. Media analysts speculated that the PLD had chosen its rival, and covertly worked for the victory of Mejia in the PRD primaries. Mejia was considered a weaker candidate for the party than Miguel Vargas.

Miguel Vargas never joined his party's campaign, preferring to keep a low profile. News reporters made the point he cast his vote in the last hour of the poll.

When the first campaign polls were published, Medina was lagging behind Mejia, but in the final months, President Leonel Fernandez put aside his differences with party dissident Danilo Medina and joined the campaign for the victory of the PLD, revving the PLD machinery behind the candidate. First Lady Margarita Cedeno was chosen as Vice Presidential candidate, a move that was said to have unified the party towards the end. Cedeno sought the presidential nomination in 2011 but at the end stood down in favor of Medina.

Fernandez went on to campaign aggressively for the party. Listin Diario published a victory photo showing Danilo Medina and Margarita Cedeno together celebrating the victory, with Medina's wife, Candy to his right, and San Juan Senator Felix Bautista, the controversial leading PLD businessman, to his left. National District Senator Reynaldo Pared Perez and architect Eduardo Selman are also in the front line with Medina.

Danilo Medina reaches the Presidency in his third attempt. A former Secretary of Staff of President Leonel Fernandez during the latter's 1996-2000 Presidency, Danilo Medina lost to Hipolito Mejia in the 2004 presidential election, when President Leonel Fernandez remained on the sidelines. In 2006, Danilo Medina sought the PLD presidential nomination, competing against Fernandez.

The PLD celebrates at their headquarters

With 99% of the vote counted showing he is in the lead, PLD candidate Danilo Medina, his wife Candy Medina and their three daughters celebrated victory at the Santo Domingo headquarters of the ruling PLD party, to the beat of the music of Kinito Mendez. The celebrations have caused traffic jams on Av. Independencia.

PLD senator Reynaldo Pared Perez, Vice President Rafael Alburquerque and campaign manager Francisco Javier Garcia were also at the celebration, as reported in El Caribe.

Medina, 60, a graduate in chemical engineering from the UASD and in economics from INTEC, has dedicated his life to politics. He was first elected as a PLD deputy in 1986, and served as president of the Chamber of Deputies, prior to being chief of staff for the Fernandez government in 1996.

www.elcaribe.com.do/2012/05/21/cientos-seguidores-concentran-casa-nacional-del-pld

www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=287080

Chief of OAS observer mission declares election a success

Tabare Vazquez, chief of the Organization of American States (OAS) observer mission, described Sunday's Dominican election as a demonstration of civism and democracy in which the Dominican people had delivered an exemplary demonstration of civism and responsibility, in a press conference yesterday.

The former President of Uruguay said there had been some incidents and urged the population to await the final results. He concluded that the number of incidents compared to the number of votes shows there was no influence. He announced they would be making their recommendations and said this would include that the candidate who is elected President should not interfere with the electoral process in the future. It has been customary for the President of the Republic to back the ruling party candidacy with state resources.

"If we are talking of 10 or 15 claims of irregularities, or 20 claims, that cannot affect a vote of several millions of citizens," he said, as reported in Diario Libre. He said that the report would include complaints about the suspected purchase of voting cards and the use of state resources in the PLD campaign.

At a press conference, Tabare Vazquez conveyed OAS secretary general Jose Miguel Insulza's congratulations to the Dominican people and President-elect Danilo Medina and Vice-President-elect Margarita Cedeno for the successful election, now that 99% of the vote has been counted.

Expat vote

The Central Electoral Board has yet to announce the names of the seven overseas deputies that would be chosen in the 2012 election.

Based on the vote count posted at 5:48am on Monday, 21 May, in the overseas election the PRD was leading in Circumscription 1, which includes the United States, with the exception of Miami, and Canada with 48.21% of the vote against 35.25% for the PLD. In the Circumscription 2, that includes Miami, Panama, Venezuela, Curacao, Aruba and the Virgin Islands, the PLD was ahead with 43.36%, compared to 41.50% for the PRD.

In the Circumscription 3, Dominicans in Europe, the PLD also leads with 49.38% compared to 42.57% for the PLD.

Penn & Schoen predicts Dominican election outcome

The polling company Penn & Schoen was the most accurate in predicting the outcome of the 20 May presidential election. In its 18-22 April poll, the company forecast that Danilo Medina would receive 51% of the vote against 46% of the vote for Hipolito Mejia. With 99% of the vote in, the results were 51.24%- 46.93%.

Bendixen & Amandi's poll of 13-16 May was also close, with a forecast of 52% for Danilo Medina compared to 45% for Hipolito Mejia.

Interestingly, the average of the 15 most recent polls was also relatively accurate. The average was 51.13%-45.8%.

The polls into the election were:

Penn Schoen (18-22 April): DM 51%, HM 46%
Gallup (14-18 April): DM 50.6%, HM 44.6%
CID Latinoamericana (30 April-4 May): HM 51%, DM 48%
Greenberg (2-7 May): DM 51%, HM 46%
Benenson Strategy (5-9 May): DM 52%, HM 41%
Sigma Dos (6-12 May): DM 53.7%, HM 43.6%
Campol Group (8-12 May): HM 50%, DM 45%
Alfonso, Cabrera y Asoc (10-12 May), DM 53.6%, HM 43.3%
Hamilton Campaigns (10-13 May): DM 52%, HM 43%
Centro Economico del Cibao (11-13 May): HM 50.4%, 47% DM Newlink (12-14 May): DM 52.1%, HM 45.5%
Zogby Analytics (12-14 May): HM 50%, DM 45%
Insight (11-14 May): DM 54.7%, HM 43.1%
Bendixen & Amandi (13-16 May): DM 52%, HM 45%
Asisa (14-15 May): DM 53.3%, HM 44.7%

JCE closes down TeleSistema

An electoral military contingent was sent to Telesistema, Channel 11 at 7:15pm yesterday, Sunday 20 May, to close down the television station. The JCE had warned the station that their news broadcast had violated the pre-established rules for electoral coverage. The station went back on air at 11pm, but without its electoral news coverage service under news chief Roberto Cavada.

In the afternoon, the president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) himself, Roberto Rosario had warned the channel that it was in violation by declaring a winner of the election. Hector Valentin Baez, Telesistema's vice president of business and content, said that the station was closed by order of the JCE, a prosecutor and official from the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel).

Suspect hacking promoter arrested in Santo Domingo

National District prosecutors have announced the arrest of Jose Angel Gomez (Jochi) son of journalist Guillermo Gomez on suspicion of involvement in a hacking operation of the JCE computer network. He is suspected of links with a foreigner, Mario Pierre, suspected of being hired to sabotage the network at the Central Electoral Board. Judge Rosalba Garib issued the arrest warrant on Sunday afternoon, 20 May. The judiciary has 48 hours to present charges. The prosecutors did not say if Pierre traveled to the DR.

Gomez's lawyers, Carlos Balcacer and Carlos Olivares said the judiciary had no evidence against their arrested client.

www.acento.com.do/index.php/news/16874/56/La-Fiscalia-del-DN-dice-que-hijo-de-Guillermo-Gomez-era-investigado-por-plan-de-sabotaje.html

Body of Colombian Maribel Buritica found

The Police announced on Sunday, 20 May, the arrest of Dominican David Joel Toribio Guiridi, 32, described as a dancer at an east coast hotel, as the lead suspect in the murder of Colombian Maribel Buritica, 34, who had been missing from her home in Punta Cana since 4 May.

Police spokesman Maximo Baez said Toribio had confessed to the woman's murder, telling the Police he had been hired to do so by a Canadian, Gordon Wilson.

Toribio, aka Big Papi, led the Police to her body off the Autovia del Este in San Pedro de Macoris. Her Honda Accord was located in San Cristobal.

On 12 April, Buritica complained to the authorities that Gordon Wilson was harassing her, and obtained a restraining order. Buritica worked as a group manager at Manati Park in Bavaro. The divorced mother of two girls, aged 9 and 10, lived in Punta Cana Village. The girls are now in Santo Domingo with their father.

Gordon Wilson is reported to have left the country.

Buritica was last seen at the San Juan Shopping Mall in Punta Cana at 7pm on the 4 May.

http://www.dr1.com/forums/east-coast/123911-disappearance-maribel-buritic.html

www.hoy.com.do/provincias/2012/5/21/428593/Bailarin-confiesa-mato-joven-colombia

Saying it right

Last Friday, 18 May, DR1 published a brief about the first swimmer to represent the Dominican Republic in women's swimming in an Olympics. The brief's title could have misled several readers into understanding the story was about the first Dominican woman in the Olympics, which is not the case. The corrected version of the story follows:

Massachusetts teenager is first Dominican woman in Olympics swimming. A 15-year old swimmer from Northborough, Massachusetts, Dorian McMenemy, will be the first female to ever compete in the Olympics Games for the Dominican Republic. While she was born in the United States, her mother is Dominican and she has swum internationally for the Dominican Republic. She won the right to compete in the Games at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China, where she ranked 36th in the 50-meter butterfly and 46th in the 100-meter butterfly. She will compete in the 100-meter butterfly at the London Olympics. Last July, McMenemy swam for the Dominican Republic in Puerto Rico, where she broke several records. She is a freshman at Algonquin High School in Northborough, Massachusetts where she is also a competitive basketball player.

Biggest Dominican team ever to the London Olympics

The Dominican delegation to the London 2012 Olympics will be the largest ever. The DR took 24 athletes in individual events to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. So far, 34 Dominican athletes have qualified for the London Olympics.

Dominicans have made qualifying standards for track and field (10), boxing (3), women's volleyball (12), swimming (2), weight lifting (2), gymnastics (1), skeet (1), judo (1), table tennis (1) and tae kwon do (1), reports the Dominican Olympic Committee. Pending for qualification is the Dominican basketball team (July qualifier), and Dominican handball (in Denmark this week).

The Dominican Republic is behind the US and Canada (150 qualified each), Argentina (125), Colombia (104), Cuba (91), Brazil (87), Mexico (84) and Venezuela (53).

Many of the Dominican athletes have qualified thanks to private sponsorship that has paid for their training, as in the case of Yamilet Pena in gymnastics, and others have trained abroad all their lives, as in the case of the two swimmers.

Competing for the DR in track and field are Felix Sanchez, a former gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics; Luguelin Santos (who is currently competing in the Diamond League), Marielys Sanchez, Wilder Cuevas, Idellete Lavonne and Raysa M. Sanchez.

The boxers are Junior Castillo, Wellington Arias and Junior Encarnacion.

In weightlifting, Yuderquis Contreras and a second woman who is yet to be chosen.

In taekwondo, Gabriel Mercedes, the silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics, will be back.

In swimming, Nicholas Schwab and Dorian McMenemy.

In skeet the post will be held by Sergio Pinero or Eduardo Lorenzo.

In judo, Maria Garcia qualified, and in table tennis Juan Lin Ju.

Joel Rosario Quartet for Mother's Day

Mother's Day in the Dominican Republic falls on the last Sunday in the month, or the 27th of May this year. Saxophonist Joel Rosario and his Quartet is scheduled for a pre-Mother's Day Friday concert at the Dominican Fiesta Sunset Jazz rooftop nightclub.

For more on upcoming events, see http://www.dr1.com/calendar