General elections were held in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

on 16 May 1978.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p247 Following diplomatic pressure from

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, the elections were free and competitive and contested by all political parties, unlike the previous elections in the 1970s.Nohlen, p241

Antonio Guzmán Fernández Silvestre Antonio Guzmán Fernández (February 12, 1911 – July 4, 1982), best known as Antonio Guzmán, was a Dominican businessman and a politician. He was President of the Dominican Republic, from 1978 to 1982. Early life Antonio Guzm� ...

won the presidential election, whilst his

Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party ( es, link=no, Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, PRD) is a political party in the Dominican Republic. Traditionally a left-of-centre party and social democratic in nature, the party has shifted since the 200 ...

(which had not contested the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

and 1974 elections) won the Congressional elections. Voter turnout was 75.8%. When counting showed an unmistakable trend toward Guzmán, the Army attempted a coup and interrupted the vote count, only to back down amid protests at home and strong pressure from abroad. The final count showed Balaguer had suffered the first defeat of his career.Dominican Republic
Inter-Parliamentary Union Although Guzmán was allowed to assume the presidency, the Central Elections Authority redistributed the uncast votes equally between the PRD and the Reformist Party, diminishing the PRD's majority in Congress. Guzmán's swearing-in on 16 August marked the first time in the country's history that a sitting government had peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition.

Results

President

Congress

References

{{Dominican Republic elections

1978 in the Dominican Republic Elections in the Dominican Republic Presidential elections in the Dominican Republic Election and referendum articles with incomplete results May 1978 events in North America