Presidential and parliamentary elections were under way in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Incumbent Luis Abinader from the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) is running for a second four-year term as president and head of government and, according to polls, was the favourite going into Sunday's vote. His party had already done well in the local elections in February.
Abinader is being challenged by former president Leonel Fernández, who governed in 1996-2000 and again in 2004-08, and the former mayor of the second largest city, Santiago, Abel Martínez.
All three candidates can be assigned to the centre-left camp. Should none of them receive more than 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off election on June 30.
The Dominican Republic is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. The beach paradise has long since recovered from the slump in tourism caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, it recorded more than 10 million visitors for the first time.
The economy has been one of the fastest growing in Latin America on average for decades.
The election campaign was dominated by the crisis in neighbouring Haiti, with which the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola. Powerful gangs have brought the state there to the brink of collapse.
All presidential candidates plan to continue deporting Haitians without residence permits despite the catastrophic situation in the neighbouring country.