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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – After a night of counting ballots in the Dominican Republic,Danilo Medina, of the governing Dominican Liberation Party declaredvictory early Monday, but his outspoken rival and former presidentHip lito Mej a, of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, vows tochallenge election results. Medina received just over 51 percent of Sunday's vote with 83percent of the ballots counted, according to the Caribbeancountry's Electoral Commission. His closest rival, Mej a, receivednearly 47 percent. The winner needed more than 50 percent to avoida runoff. Medina said he was confident he would win, but that the ElectoralCommission would keep scrutinizing ballots through the night. Hethanked a crowd of supporters and sent them home. "We will celebrate in a big way tomorrow," he said. Mej a did not concede and questioned the results as did others inhis party. Luis Abinader, his vice presidential candidate, said theDominican Revolutionary Party would present a report detailingirregularities on Monday. "We are going to defend democracy," Abinader said. "We are going toshow the country what really has happened today." Mej a's representative on the Electoral Commission accused theruling party of fraud, saying the former president should havereceived many more votes than the results reflected. "We all knowwhat party the director of the Electoral Commission belongs to," hesaid at a news conference. The balloting appeared orderly in general but there were widespreadreports that backers of both parties were offering people paymentsof about $15 to vote for their candidate or to turn over theirvoting cards and withhold their vote. Campaign officials denied theallegations. Observers from the Organization of American States confirmedincidents of vote-buying but not enough to taint the overallresults of what was otherwise a "successful," election, said thehead of the mission, Tabare Vazquez, a former president of Uruguay. The candidates were vying to succeed President Leonel Fern ndez,who spent $2.6 billion on such major infrastructure projects as asubway system, hospitals and roads to modernize a country that isthe top tourist destination in the Caribbean but remains largelypoor. Fern ndez was barred by the Constitution from running for athird consecutive term. Many voters conceded that Medina, a 60-year-old economist andstalwart of the Dominican Liberation Party, wasn't a particularlyexciting candidate, but said they were eager for stability in acountry with a history of economic and political turmoil. "I don't want major change," said Amauris Chang, a 59-year-old shopowner. "I want the country to grow and I want it to be peaceful,and I think that's a common idea among people who are civilized." Six candidates were running for president, but Medina's only realopponent was Mej a, who lost his bid for a second presidentialterm in 2004 because of a deep economic crisis sparked by thecollapse of three banks. Mej a and his Dominican Revolutionary Party have a devotedfollowing. Supporters of the 71-year-old garrulous populist soughtto portray some of the public works spending as wasteful andbenefiting backers of the president, and insisted he wasn't toblame for the 2004 economic crisis. "The crisis could have happened to any government. It had nothingto do with Hip lito Mej a," said 62-year-old maintenance manAlonso Calcano. Demetrio Espinosa, a 60-year-old jobless resident of the capital'sColonial district, said Mej a understands the needs of poor peoplelike him. He said most people can't afford to be treated in the newhospitals nor do they need a subway if they don't have a job. "They made a lot of their friends into millionaires and spent thepublic's money," Espinosa said of the ruling party. Besides president, Dominicans were electing a vice president from afield that included the heavily favored first lady, MargaritaCedeno de Fern ndez, and seven members of the Chamber of Deputieswho will represent people who have settled overseas. Tens ofthousands were expected to cast ballots in places with largenumbers of Dominicans, including New York, New Jersey, Florida andPuerto Rico. Both presidential candidates proposed to increase spending oneducation and to do what they can to create jobs in a country of 10million people that is largely dependent on tourism and whereunemployment is officially about 14 percent, though the vastmajority of workers are in the poorly paid informal sector. Thetypical salary for those who do have regular jobs is around $260 amonth. The Dominican Republic has also become an important route for drugsmugglers seeking to reach the U.S. through nearby Puerto Rico andthere are widespread concerns about the influence of drugtrafficking. The candidates also traded accusations of incompetenceand corruption. Reporting by the Associated Press. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Negative Ion Necklace , Anti Slip Rubber Mat for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Hologram Wrist Band.
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