Ex-Dominican president contesting loss in party’s primary
Posted Oct 7, 2019 04:50:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Former Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández is contesting his apparent defeat in a primary vote by the country’s governing party to pick its presidential candidate for February’s election.
Fernández held the presidency from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012 and wants to serve a third term. The Dominican Liberation Party says he got 47.3% of the votes cast in Sunday’s primary, finishing second to businessman Gonzalo Castillo Terrero at 48.7%.
The results are preliminary, pending official certification in five days.
Fernández labeled the vote a fraud and says he is calling on international observers to verify the integrity of the process. Only members of the Dominican Liberation Party vote in the primary.
Businessman Luis Abinader won the nomination of the main opposition party, the Modern Revolutionary Party.
The Associated Press
