SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – A businessman who never held an elected position won the Dominican Republic’s presidency, according to Monday’s results, ending a 16-year run in power by a center-left party.
President-elect Luis Rodolfo Abinader had won around 53 percent of Sunday’s votes with most polling places reporting, beating Gonzalo Castillo of the Dominican Liberation Party, who has ruled since 2004.
Mr. Castillo recognized “an irreversible trend” in favor of Mr. Abinader and congratulated him, as did outgoing President Daniel Medina, who had been prevented by term limits from seeking a third four-year term.
The elections took place when the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean nation of 10.5 million people. Mr. Abinader spent most of the past month isolated after testing positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The vote itself had been postponed since May due to illness.
The Health Ministry reported Saturday the highest daily count of new confirmed cases of Covid-19, 1,241. The country has reported 794 deaths from the disease.
Voters were required to wear face masks. Only one voter was allowed at a time to enter polling places, although those outside often seemed to ignore recommendations for social distancing.
Mr. Abinader, 52, is part of a family with extensive commercial properties in the Dominican Republic, including hotels. Although he never held office, he finished second in the 2016 presidential election. The results of the vote for 190 seats in Congress and 32 in the Senate were not immediately clear.
