There are an estimated 12 000 Dominican Republic (DR) nationals living throughout the entire Turks and Caicos Islands, and President Leonel Fernandez Reyna is campaigning among them to help him win the upcoming May 16 general elections for his Partitdo De LA Liberacion Dominicana (PLD).

President Leonel was expected to visit the Turks and Caicos Islands to speak directly to the DR nationals, but due to his hectic schedule, in his stead he has sent a high-powered delegation headed by emissary of the Dominican Republic Ms. Isabel Valeras.

The President is so aggressive and serious about winning this election that he has offered the Dominicans free trips to their homeland on Air Turks and Caicos, to vote for him.

“I am here to motivate the Dominican people to come home and vote for President Leonel, also to offer them an opportunity to fly back to the Dominican Republic to vote and continue with the progress and stability of the Dominican Republic,” Valeras told The SUN.

“We believe that there are about 10, 000- 12,000 Dominicans living throughout the TCI and in any election, every vote is important. Support thus far has being going very well as a lot of people here have expressed a desire to support President Leonel Fernandez Reyna and the PLD party,” she added.

The high ranking assistant to the President explained that due to the close timing of the election it is currently very unlikely that President Leonel would be able to come to the TCI and speak to his people before the election.

President Leonel has been in office for the past four years but served previously as president from 1996-2000.

“He really wants to come here, but it is not possible because of the hectic nature of his campaign in the Dominican Republic, as the election is entering its final two weeks. He has heard so much about the Turks and Caicos Islands; if he doesn't come here before the election he will come after he wins, and meet with the residents of the DR living here.”

The officials confirmed that the Dominicans are scattered throughout all of the islands and that they are working in almost every sector.

“We have done or research and we know for a fact that there are between 10,000 and 12,000 people from the Dominican Republic living here in this country the Turks and Caicos Islands, and they are making a big contribution in many ways,” the official said.

Owner of Air Turks and Caicos, Lyndon Gardiner, is pleased to be offering assistance to the cause as he too conducts business in the TCI.

“I'm not only a businessman in the Caribbean, but I have significant roots in the Dominican Republic, my wife and children are Dominican and I am a legal Dominican resident with properties and businesses in the DR.

“I have seen the changes that Leonel has made there, from the levels of petty corruption at the airport to the level now, where everything has been brought on par with what you would expect in a more developed country like the US or Europe. In years gone by you could do business and other things based on favours, and they have done away with that system under this current president and now things are done in a more fair and balanced system.”

“I have been asked to help because they recognize I have a good reputation here and I want to help them in whatever way I can.”

The flights will be leaving from the 12th- 15 th at various times and will be returning the days after the elections. All persons here wanting to vote should contact the Dominican Republic Commission consisting of Vasquez, Frank Rodriguez, Cesilia Lightbourne and Arcadio Guareno.

Dominican resident Juan Vasquez who is also a member of the Dominican Commission here in the TCI assisting with the travel arrangement explained to this newspaper that he also confident of a return to victory.

“The reason why people are supporting him so much is because before, there was no fixed rate for the peso and it fluctuated a lot. The exchange rate to the US dollar was not stable and it created a lot of problems for the businessmen, some days it was one price and the next up by ten dollars.

“This was very challenging for the commercial industries and the people realized that the country in this type of atmosphere cannot progress. That is why they brought back Leonel because he has young fresh ideas, the first thing he did was stabilize the value of the peso and it remained at that rate throughout his term.”

“He is very interested in education and believes in educating his people; he calls it (education) the key and has brought new schools and technologies to the Dominican Republic. When you are educated you can achieve anything you want, and he has transformed other areas like health, and transportation.”

There are about 14 political parties in the Dominican Republic .