Dominican vote follows pre-election violence

Dominicans voted in general elections for a new government they hope will be able to revitalize the country's flagging economy.

Voters went to the polls to select a president, vice president, 27 senators, 120 deputies, and municipal officials from among seven contesting political parties.

Troops were on full alert following weeks of pre-election violence, but there were no reports of incidents in early voting.

Incumbent President Antonio Guzman of the governing Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) did not run for re-election because party policy forbids it.

Opinion polls predicted the PRD's presidential candidate, Sen. Salvador Jorge Blanco, a liberal, would win 47 percent of the vote, against 25 percent for opposition Reformist Party of ex-President Joaquin Balaguer and 14 percent for former President Juan Bosch of the Dominican Liberation Party.