Exit polls show that Dominican President Leonel Fernandez could secure a first-round electoral victory.

A Washington-based pollster says Fernandez has obtained 56 percent of votes based on interviews with almost 19,000 voters across the country. The polling firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates says the main challenger has obtained 39 percent of votes.

Dominican officials have not issued any results and are still counting ballots from the polls, which closed at 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) Friday.

Voters were interviewed at 100 stations across the country. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point, and does not include results from overseas polls.