"The message from the results is clear: the change we have made will be irreversible," Luis Abinader said on Sunday. "In the Dominican Republic, the best is yet to come," promised the candidate from the Modern Revolutionary Party, who was seeking a second term.

According to data from the Dominican electoral commission, Abinader had almost 59% of the votes, with more than 25% of the votes counted.

The current head of state had more than double the votes of the second most voted candidate, the former Dominican head of state Leonel Fernández, from the People's Force party, who governed during the periods 1996-2000, 2004-2008 and 2008-2012.

Both Fernández and the third most popular candidate, the former president of the lower house of parliament, Abel Martínez, from the Dominican Liberation Party, have already called to congratulate Abinader.

"Tonight I called President Luis Abinader by phone to acknowledge his electoral victory and wish him success in his administration," Leonel Fernández said on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

"We are sure that there is a priority, which is called the Dominican Republic" and for that, "as Dominicans who love this country, we want to contribute," said Abel Martínez, on social networks.

Around 8.1 million voters were called to the polls for general elections that took place normally, although the opposition parties reported a series of minor irregularities.

On Sunday, voters also chose the new deputies (32 seats) and senators (190), as well as 20 deputies for the Central American Parliament (Parlacen).

The elections were accompanied by a mission of 84 people from 19 nationalities from the Organization of American States, led by the former president of Chile, Eduardo Frei.

Panama and Venezuela have already congratulated Abinader, who took office in August 2020, during the covid-19 crisis, for his re-election.

The outgoing President of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, who will leave office in July, said on the social network X that the country remains committed to "continuing to strengthen the common bonds of friendship and cooperation" with the Dominican Republic.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government called on Abinader to transform "Latin America into a territory of peace and prosperity, joining forces in efforts to advance in the construction of a multicentric and multipolar world".

The Dominican Republic occupies part of the island of Santo Domingo, which it shares with another state, Haiti, considered the poorest nation in the Americas.

Read Also: Flight attendants took millions of drugs to the Dominican Republic (Portuguese version)