Presidential election in Dominican Republic on Sunday

Opposition Candidate Luis Abinader of the Modern Revolutionary Party, who has recovered from testing positive for COVID-19 last month, is twenty points ahead of former Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo in opinion polls leading up to the election.

Castillo is the candidate of the Dominican Liberation Party, which has ruled the Dominican Republic for the last sixteen years.

To win outright in the first round, and avoid a second round runoff, a candidate has to gain more than 50 percent of the vote. Former President Leonel Fernandez is trailing a distant third in the election sprint, while outgoing president Danilo Medina, who won last time around, is barred by the Constitution from competing this time.

The pandemic has hit the population hard and affected the tourism industry. Battling corruption is another a key issue.

The electorate will also vote for 190 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 32 Senators.