On Thursday, Dominican President Luis Albinader is set to meet separately with the candidates Leonel Fernández, of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), and Abel Martínez, of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD), four days after the general elections.
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The information was given by the Director of Strategy and Government Communication and spokesperson for the Presidency, Homero Figueroa, who said that the meetings are aimed at promoting the unity and collaboration necessary for the development and well-being of the Dominican Republic, beyond political differences.
The dialogue with Fernández, who finished second in the electoral race on 19 May, will take place at 20:00 local time at the Fundación Global y Desarrollo (Funglode), and with Abel Martínez (third most voted) at 21:00 local time at the National House of his party.
Abinader bids for another four years in the National Palace and won with 57.45 per cent of the vote, while his closest challenger, Fernández, obtained 28.8 per cent, according to the final results issued the day before by the Central Electoral Board (JCE).
The text reads,
Historic meeting in the DR Today, President Luis Abinader will meet with his electoral rivals Abel Martínez (PLD) and Leonel Fernández (FP). They seek to resume key agreements and discuss constitutional reform.
Of the nine presidential candidates, Martinez placed third with 10.39 percent of the votes cast by four million 429,079 Dominicans out of a voter roll of eight million 145,548.
Despite having won the majority of seats in the National Congress, the governor, who will lead the country for another four years, reiterated last Tuesday that he will resume dialogue with opposition leaders and citizens to reconcile the National Pact, which will cover all areas of public policy.
He said that on Sunday night, when Fernández and Martínez called to congratulate him, he told them that he would be available to meet with them in the coming days.
He said that his idea is to reach agreement on the country's important issues and discuss them with Dominican society and the opposition.