Santo Domingo, July 5 (RHC)-- The voting centers set up in the Dominican Republic opened their doors so that some 7.6 million citizens could responsibly elect the nation's president and vice president, 32 senators and 190 deputies.

The polling stations opened at 7:00 local time (11:00 GMT) and will close at 17:00 (21:00 GMT), although people who wait in line at that time to enter will have their documentation collected to allow them to vote.

The JCE authorized 16001 polling stations in the country and 1099 abroad, in which 7,529,932 citizens are registered to vote for 264 public offices.

The main presidential candidates are Luis Abinader (Modern Revolutionary Party), Gonzalo Castillo (Dominican Liberation Party) and former president Leonel Fernández (People's Force).

The other candidates for the head of state are Guillermo Moreno (Alianza País), Juan Cohen (Partido Nacional Voluntad Ciudadana) and Ismael Reyes (Partido Demócrata Institucional), all of them minority political formations.

The Organization of American States sent a mission of observers led by former Chilean President Eduardo Frei, which arrived in the country last week and met with the JCE and the political parties.

Luis Abinader arrives at the presidential elections in the Dominican Republic as the favourite in the polls to win, and to encourage the return of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM, social democrat) to the Executive.

During the current campaign, Abinader consolidated his reputation as a persistent politician and natural leader within the party he founded in 2014 together with former President Hipólito Mejía, who is unconditional despite the fact that he was defeated in two consecutive primaries.