General elections were held in

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 15 May 2016 to elect a president, vice-president and the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, as well as 20 deputies to the

Central American Parliament The Central American Parliament ( es, Parlamento Centroamericano), also known as PARLACEN, is the political institution and parliamentary body of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Its headquarters are in Guatemala City. History ...

, municipal councils, mayors and vice mayors.Elections in the Dominican Republic : May 20 Presidential Election
IFES On 15 May 2015 Roberto Rosario, president of the Central Electoral Board, said that there would be about 4,300 seats up for election in the "most complex elections in history".

Background

The previous

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

were held in 2010, and fresh elections would have usually been due in 2014 as

has a four-year term. However, in an effort to revert to the pre-1996 system and synchronize the dates of presidential and parliamentary and local elections in a single electoral year, the congressional term starting in 2010 was exceptionally extended to six years in order for the next congressional and municipal elections to be held alongside the next presidential elections due in 2016. On 19 April 2015 the political committee of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party decided, without consensus, to amend the constitution to allow a president to be re-elected once, allowing incumbent President Danilo Medina to be presented for re-election, based on his high poll ratings. This led to tensions between party members and leaders, especially amongst supporters of

Leonel Fernandez Leonel is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Leonel Altobelli (born 1986), Argentine footballer * Leonel Álvarez (born 1965), former Colombian football defensive midfielder * Leonel Bastos or Lionel Bastos, singer, songwriter and ...

who was a pre-candidate for the elections. There was also an impasse in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, where senators and representatives close to Fernandez stated that they would not vote in favour of the Act to Call the Revising National Assembly to amend the constitution. After several weeks of internal disputes, the political committee, including Fernandez and Medina, agreed on 28 May to vote for the amendment. The amendment passed the Chamber on June 2.

Electoral system

The president was elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

; if no candidate had received more than 50% plus 1 of the vote, a second-round

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

would have been held in June 2016. Presidents are limited to serving two consecutive terms of four years. In the Congress, the 190 members of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

were elected in three groups; 178 were elected using proportional representation from 32 multi-member constituencies based on the 31 provinces and the

Distrito Nacional The Distrito Nacional (; D.N.) is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not in any of the Provinces of the Dominican Republic, provinces, but in practice, it acts as a province on its own. Before Octobe ...

, with the number of seats based on the population of each province. A further seven were elected by proportional representation in a separate constituency for expatriates and five allocated nationally to parties that received at least 1% of the vote, with preference given to those that did not win any of the 178 constituency seats.Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies)
IPU The 32 members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

were elected from the 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional using

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

.Senado (Senate)
IPU

Coalitions

The coalition led by the Dominican Liberation Party includes: * Dominican Revolutionary Party *

Alternative Democratic Movement The Alternative Democratic Movement ( es, Movimiento Democrático Alternativo, MODA) is a political party in the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola ...

* Social Democratic Institutional Bloc * Civic Renovation Party * Liberal Reformist Party *

Green Socialist Party The Green Socialist Party () is a minor political party of 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 Carib ...

* Christian Democratic Union *

Dominican Workers' Party The Dominican Workers Party ( es, Partido de los Trabajadores Dominicanos, PTD) was a communist party in the Dominican Republic founded in 1979. The leader and secretary general of the party was José González Espinosa. In the 16 May 2006 electio ...

*Institutional Democratic Party * Christian People's Party *Liberal Party of Action *

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

*Citizen's Will National Party *

Independent Revolutionary Party The Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI) ( es, Partido Revolucionario Independiente) is a minor political party of the Dominican Republic, without parliamentary representation after the 16 May 2006 election. The PRI was created by Jacobo Majluta a ...

The coalition led by the Modern Revolutionary Party includes: * Social Christian Reformist Party *

Dominican Humanist Party The Dominican Humanist Party () is a minor humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and ph ...

* Broad Front *Dominicans for Change

Results

President

Congress

References

External links

Elections in the Dominican Republic: 2016 General Elections
IFES {{Dominican Republic elections Dominican R 2016 in the Dominican Republic Elections in the Dominican Republic Presidential elections in the Dominican Republic May 2016 events in North America