US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO2968

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