Dominican presidential runner-up downplays resounding defeat

The runner-up in the Dominican Republic's presidential elections, Luis Abinader, said Tuesday he will continue to work to gain more ground.

"We cannot feel like losers. We cannot feel defeated because we won the respect of the electorate (and) we are not going to let them down because we have a renewed party that won key political positions in the capital, the provinces and in the cities," said Abinader.

Sunday's elections saw the incumbent, President Danilo Medina, whose ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) has presided over a robust economy, get re-elected by a wide margin.

With 66.90 percent of the ballots counted, Medina had 61.57 percent of the votes to Abinader's 35.37 percent, according to the latest tally from the Central Electoral Board (JCE).

Out of a field of seven opposition candidates, Abinader, of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), was the strongest.

He pledged to prevent any attempts by Medina to amend the Constitution so he can run again in 2020.

Source: XINHUA