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The Dominican Republican will choose a president, vice president, 32 senators, 190 congress members, 20 seats in the Central American Parliament, 158 mayors and 1,164 councilors.
But who are the candidates, and why does it matter to the rest of Latin America?
Fun fact: According to protocol, whoever is elected president needs to wear a white suit and black tie for its inauguration ceremony, as well as other guests. Not cream or beige, but white. And Dominicans are really serious about it.
Danilo Medina is the current President of the Dominican Republic, and has held office since 2012. He can run for re-election after a constitutional reform he promoted last year was passed and eliminated an article that prohibited consecutive presidential terms.
He belongs to the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and he heads the polls nationwide. He is the target of international criticism after his government passed a controversial law to deport Haitians in the country.
Luis Abinader is the second candidate in the polls, and is running for the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM). He leads a coalition of parties, some left-wing, and with their support he would have 45 percent of the vote, while his main opponent Medina reaches close to 50 percent.
He is a young businessman who hasn’t held public office, and is the chairman of major tourism and hotel companies in the country. Abinader hired New York’s former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to draft his security plan. He promised to lower taxes and still raise salaries, as well as dedicate more resources to health and education.
Hatuey De Camps served as a congressman and is running for Social Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRSD). He said his government will combat corruption and is against presidential re{-election. Statistics don’t place him in the second round of elections.
Minou Tavarez Mirabal
Minou Tavárez Mirabal is a politician and teacher and is running for president for the Democratic Aliance Party (APD). She said that if elected she will make sure women earn the same salaries as men. She has also said the Electoral Board is responding to president Danilo Medina’s orders and they should do a manual count of every vote for the elections.
Guillermo Moreno
Guillermo Moreno is a lawyer and president of the political party Alianza País (ALPAIS). He lead an investigation of alleged corruption and money laundering against ex-president Leonel Fernandez, under whose administration he worked as attorney general. According to polls, he’s still far behind in the polls from the main two candidates.
Elias Wessin Chavez is a lawyer and has said his organization is against abortion and liberal sex education. He criticized the U.S. ambassador, who is homosexual, for expressing his support for the LGBT community. He is part of the Quisqueyano Christian Democratic Party (PQDC).
Pelegrín Castillo is a congressman and founder of the Progressive National Force (FNP). He said he would build a wall along the border with Haiti and defend the country’s sovereignty. He has been labeled the Donald Trump of the Dominican Republican for his strong, xenephobic stance against immigrants.
Soraya Aquino belongs to the National Unity Party (PUN). He has continuously asked for religious people to support her candidacy. She says she will end high spending in governmental social programs and launched a mobile phone game to boost her campaign. She has also said that from her government, whoever steals money, will be punished by God.
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