First poll for 2020 Dominican Republic general election reveals a deep desire for change, threatening the ruling party

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

Diario Libre, a major news site in the Dominican Republic, published this week the results of GQR’s first survey in the lead up to a contentious May general election.  The results show Dominicans’ increasing frustration with corruption and a desire for change, benefiting oppositional presidential candidate Luis Abinader of the Partido Revolucionario Moderno (PRM). The survey, the first in a series of polls for the newspaper, puts Abinader at 52%, which would be just enough to defeat Leonel Fernández and Gonzalo Castillo in a first round ballot, ending a 16-year hold on the office by the PLD.

The poll also shows low trust in the country’s electoral administration. This follows a disputed primary election for the PLD in October 2019 and a February 2020 municipal elections that were canceled hours after voting began, due to problems with an electronic voting system. In the poll, a 68% majority say they do not trust the Central Electoral Board’s (JCE) ability to organize free and fair elections, while 30% say they do.

The survey was designed and analyzed by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (GQR), in partnership with Senior Director Jessica Reis of Bully Pulpit Interactive.

Initial findings for the first survey can be found through the following sources:

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/luis-abinader-ganaria-con-el-52-seguido-de-gonzalo-castillo-con-el-24-y-leonel-fernandez-con-el-17-KA17429030?fbclid=IwAR19y_61Z6qhB3w0y1MZr9SyyvwrJxI2W_l5MKJasBT1x88fqwlAiEFDmAE

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/el-partido-de-la-liberacion-dominicana-en-el-peor-momento-de-su-historia-DH17455868

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/municipales-el-prm-lidera-el-voto-local-OH17456855?utm_source=articulos&utm_medium=relacionada&utm_campaign=related

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/disminuye-confianza-en-la-junta-central-electoral-AH17457061?utm_source=articulos&utm_medium=relacionada&utm_campaign=related

Continuing coverage of the poll and reactions can be found here: https://www.diariolibre.com/