HAVANA, May 19. /TASS/. The Dominican Republic is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday amid a difficult socio-economic situation in the country.

Over 60% of Dominicans consider crime to be the country's main problem, and the factor of neighboring Haiti, in light of the security situation and the policies of local authorities in this area, became one of the key ones during the election campaign.

Although, according to World Bank forecasts, one of the highest economic growth rates in the Latin America and the Caribbean region is expected (5.1-5.4%) this year, more than 40% of the population is on the verge of poverty.

Nine candidates are vying for the presidency. According to recent polls, incumbent President Luis Abinader is leading in the presidential race, with 57% of respondents ready to vote for him. Next, with a margin of more than 30 percentage points, are the country’s ex-president Leonel Fernandez (24%) and the current mayor of the second most important city of the republic, Santiago Abel Martinez (12%). The chances of the remaining candidates are assessed as slim.

Alongside with electing the president, the Dominican citizens will also elect 32 members of the Senate (upper house of parliament), 190 MPs and 20 MPs of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

Thirty-four parties and eights movements are registered to participate in the elections. If none of the candidates receives 50% of the votes plus 1 vote, a second round will take place.

It is expected that 8.1 million eligible Dominicans will take part in Sunday's elections. The population of the republic exceeds 11 million people. More than 4,200 polling stations will be opened in 31 provinces and national (capital) districts of the country. They will open at 07:00 local time (02:00 p.m. Moscow time) and close at 05:00 p.m. (00:00 May 20 Moscow time).

As the Dominican newspaper Diario Libre wrote earlier this week, a mission from the Organization of American States arrived in the republic to observe the elections. It is headed by former Chilean President Eduardo Frei and consists of 84 representatives of 19 nationalities.