2020 Dominican Republic general election

General election held in the Dominican Republic

2020 Dominican Republic presidential election

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Nominee Luis Abinader Gonzalo Castillo Leonel Fernández Party PRM PLD FP Running mate Raquel Peña de Antuña Margarita Cedeño Sergia Elena de Séliman Popular vote 2,154,866 1,537,078 365,226 Percentage 52.52% 37.46% 8.90%

Presidential election result by district

President before election Danilo Medina PLD Elected President Luis Abinader PRM

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General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 5 July 2020 to elect a president, vice-president, 32 senators and 190 deputies. They had originally been planned for 17 May, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[1][2] They are the second elections since 1994 in which all positions will be elected simultaneously, and the first in Dominican history in which all authorities will be elected simultaneously and directly.^[3][4][5][6]

Incumbent President Danilo Medina was ineligible to stand for re-election, having served two consecutive terms since 2012. The governing Dominican Liberation Party's 16-year rule ended after Modern Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader received a majority of the vote.^[7] Rival candidates Gonzalo Castillo and Leonel Fernández also conceded defeat.^[7] The Modern Revolutionary Party also won a majority of seats in the Senate and a plurality in the Chamber of Deputies. The election was a partial realignment, with the Modern Revolutionary Party entering a status as a major party in the country, replacing the Dominican Revolutionary Party, who saw poor election results for the second election in a row and who obtained its lowest total vote share and seat count in its history. Abinader would be officially sworn in as President on August 16.^[8]

Electoral system

The President of the Dominican Republic is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives 50% + 1 vote, or more, of the total votes, a second-round runoff will be held between the two candidates with the highest votes on the first round.

The 32 members of the Senate are elected from the 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional using first-past-the-post voting.^[9]

The 190 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected in three groups; 178 are elected by proportional representation from 32 multi-member constituencies based on the 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional, with the number of seats based on the population of each province. A further seven members are elected by proportional representation by Dominican expatriates in 3 overseas constituencies, and five seats are allocated at the national level to parties that received at least 1% of the vote nationally, giving preference to those that did not win any of the 178 constituency seats.^[10]

The 20 seats in the Central American Parliament are elected by proportional representation.

Presidential candidates

Party		Presidential candidate	Vice presidential candidate
	Dominican Liberation Party (PLD)	Gonzalo Castillo[11]	Margarita Cedeño
	Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM)	Luis Abinader[11]	Raquel Peña de Antuña
	Fuerza del Pueblo (FP)	Leonel Fernández	Sergia Elena de Séliman
	Alianza País (ALPAÍS)	Guillermo Moreno García[11]	Agustín González Morel
	National Citizen Will Party (PNVC)	Juan Cohen	Hugo McFarlane Kaluche
	Partido Demócrata Institucional (PDI)	Ismael Reyes Cruz	Frank Gene Troncoso Haché

Opinion polls

President

Pollster	Date(s)	Castillo (PLD)	Abinader (PRM)	Fernandez (FP)	Moreno (ALPAIS)
Centro Económico del Cibao	11–13 Oct 2019	29.7%	43.7%	23.6%	N/A
Centro Económico del Cibao	3–5 Nov 2019	31%	42.9%	18.4%	1.9%
Centro Economico del Cibao[12][13]	29 Nov –1 Dec 2019	25.6%	46.6%	24.4%	N/A
Pool Logistic SRL	1–5 Dec 2019	49%	36%	3.9%	N/A
Ideame	3–10 Dec 2019	31.8%	47.5%	18.3%	N/A
ABC Marketing[permanent dead link]	10–14 Dec 2019	22.6%	47.3%	20.9%	N/A
Sigma Dos	15–17 Dec 2019	39.9%	35%	8%	N/A
Mark Penn/Stagwell[permanent dead link]	8–10 Jan 2020	28%	43%	19%	N/A
Gallup-RD	16–21 Jan 2020	31.4%	42.2%	15.5%	1.2%
Gallup-Hoy	16–21 Jan 2020	31.7%	44.9%	19.3%	N/A
CIES International	31 Jan–2 Feb 2020	35%	37%	11%	3%
Greenberg-Diario Libre	21–24 Feb 2020	24%	52%	17%	2%
CIES International	23–25 Feb 2020	28.8%	43.7%	12.6%	6.4%
CIMERAN<	28–29 Feb 2020	25%	52.5%	17.5%	3.5%
Centro Económico del Cibao	28 Feb–5 Mar 2020	21.0%	55.1%	15.6%	N/A
Sigma Dos	2–7 Apr 2020	38.8%	36.6%	9.6%	N/A
Horizon Research LLC	7 Apr 2020	23.6%	43.9%	31.2%	N/A
Global Trend Research	12–15 Apr 2020	22.9%	43.1%	30.4%	0.8%
ASISA	13–19 Apr 2020	20.4%	44%	29.1%	N/A
JB Consulting Group	14–20 Apr 2020	46.6%	31.1%	3.6%	N/A
APD Consulting Group	17–20 Apr 2020	24.1%	54.4%	11.8%	4.6%
CIES International	17–20 Apr 2020	33%	39%	9%	4%
Centro Economico del Cibao	18–19 Apr 2020	23.7%	53.4%	7.3%	1%
Polimetrics	22–25 Apr 2020	40.8%	38.3%	9.3%	1.9%
CID Latinoamericana	22–23 Apr 2020	40%	38%	8%	N/A
New Partners	23–26 Apr 2020	27.4%	52.1%	9.9%	2.1%
Market Reports	25–27 Apr 2020	22.4%	42.8%	31.2%	N/A
Mercado & Cuantificaciones	27–29 Apr 2020	30.3%	52.3%	12.3%	1.7%
GIDL	26 Apr–1 May 2020	23.2%	41.9%	32.4%	N/A
Datamarket	1–3 May 2020	26%	46%	21%	2%
Horizon Research LCC	3–7 May 2020	22.8%	41.3%	33.5%	N/A
Effective Project Comunications[permanent dead link]	4–7 May 2020	29%	49%	16%	3%
Polimetric	4–9 May 2020	40.4%	37.7%	8.8%	N/A
Centro Economico del Cibao	11–12 May 2020	35.2%	53.9%	9.5%	N/A
ABC Marketing	13–16 May 2020	26.5%	55.6%	14.5%	N/A
SISGLO	17–20 May 2020	24.1%	40.6%	33.8%	N/A
Centro Economico del Cibao	18–19 May 2020	34.6%	53.3%	9.9%	2.2%
Elections &  Proyect Corp	20–22 May 2020	21.8%	42.1%	33.9%	N/A
IDEAME	18–23 May 2020	31.5%	51.8%	14.3%	1%
José Dorín Cabrera Mercadología	21–23 May 2020	46.9%	36.7%	9.5%	2.2%
Mark Penn/Stagwell	20–25 May 2020	37%	39%	10%	N/A
APD Consulting Group	21–25 May 2020	34.4%	51.6%	11.6%	2.3%
CID Latinoamericana[14][15]	23–24 May 2020	41%	39%	10%	3%
ASISA	13–19 Apr 2020	20.4%	44%	29.1%	N/A
Centro Economico del Cibao	25–26 May 2020	34.0%	53.5%	10.3%	2.1%
CIES International	24–27 May 2020	29%	52%	10%	6%
CYGNAL	26 May–2 Jun 2020	28.2%	54.6%	13.9%	3.4%
Mercado & Cuantificaciones	28–30 May 2020	33%	51.3%	11.2%	1.1%
Datamarket	26–30 May 2020	27%	44%	21%	2%
Polimetrics	30–31 May 2020	40.7%	37.5%	8.5%	2.6%
GIDL	1–3 Jun 2020	21.5%	40.7%	33.4%	1.7%
Mercado & Cuantificaciones	2–5 Jun 2020	34.5%	52.1%	8.2%	N/A
New Partners	2–5 Jun 2020	29.5%	50.7%	11.4%	N/A
Global Trend Research	4–6 Jun 2020	25.7%	40.3%	30.8%	N/A
Gavindian Polsters	4–8 Jun 2020	38%	52%	9%	1%
Ideame	5–9 Jun 2020	34.4%	52.5%	10.9%	0.9%
Centro de Innovación y Políticas Públicas	6–9 Jun 2020	36.3%	52.3%	7.7%	1%
CID Latinoamericana	9–11 Jun 2020	43%	44%	9%	1%
Consulting and Field International	9–12 Jun 2020	43%	40%	9%	2%
Sigma Dos[16][17]	12–14 Jun 2020	43.6%	40.4%	10.1%	1.9%
John Zogby Strategies	12–14 Jun 2020	34%	54%	9%	2%
Datamarket	12–14 Jun 2020	32%	43%	17%	2%
Greenberg-Diario Libre	11–16 Jun 2020	29%	56%	12%	1%
Gallup	12–16 Jun 2020	35.5%	53.7%	8.6%	1.3%
Mercado y Cuantificaciones	15–17 Jun 2020	33.5%	55.8%	7.0%	0.3%
PoliRD	16–18 Jun 2020	45.1%	41.7%	9.8%	1.8%
ABC Marketing	15–20 Jun 2020	32.6%	54.8%	10.4%	N/A
Market Reports	18–21 Jun 2020	26.2%	40.8%	30.6%	N/A
Polismetrics	20–25 Jun 2020	42.9%	39.2%	9.6%	1.8%
Emevenca	20–23 Jun 2020	41%	46%	8%	2%
Mark Penn /Stagwell-SIN	16–23 Jun 2020	35%	47%	11%	N/A
GIDL	21–23 Jun 2020	23.8%	43%	29.7%	1.2%
Centro Economico del Cibao	22–23 Jun 2020	33.4%	55.2%	9.7%	1.7%
NewPartners	24–25 Jun 2020	29%	54%	10%	N/A

Party identification and Congress

Pollster	Date(s)	PLD	PRM	FP	PRSC	PRD	ALPAIS	N/A	Others
CIES International	19–22 Sep 2019	31%	33%	N/A	3.3%	1.2%	4.7%	15.6%	12.2%
Gallup-Hoy	16–21 Jan 2020	37.5%	43.3%	8.5%	N/A	N/A	0.1%	7.6%	2.9%
CIES International	23–25 Feb 2020	27.5%	43.6%	10%	3.8%	1.3%	2.5%	11.3%	N/A
Makert Reports	25–27 Apr 2020	29.1%	34.7%	19.1%	3.6%	2.3%	N/A	6.8%	4.2%
Datamarket[18]	1–3 May 2020	27%	37%	7%	6%	4%	2%	6%	11%
Effective Project Comunications[permanent dead link]	4–7 May 2020	32%	44%	8%	6%	4%	1%	2%	3%
José Dorín Cabrera Mercadología	21–23 May 2020	34.2%	23.2%	8.4%	N/A	N/A	0.5%	30.1%	3.6%
CID Latinoamericana	23–24 May 2020	45%	38%	6%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Datamarket	26–30 May 2020	27%	37%	7%	6%	4%	2%	6%	11%
CYGNAL	26 May–2 Jun 2020	26.7%	40.5%	9.5%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Polimetrics	30–31 May 2020	35.4%	29.9%	8.9%	0.9%	N/A	N/A	25.7%	9.2%
CID Latinoamerica[permanent dead link]	9–11 Jun 2020	43%	40%	7%	1%	2%	1%	5%	1%
Mercados y Cuantificaciones	15–17 Jun 2020	34%	47.8%	5.3%	1.1%	1.1%	0.4%	9.3%	1%
ABC Marketing	15–20 Jun 2020	29.8%	46.7%	12.3%	3.1%	6.0%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Market Reports	18–21 Jun 2020	27.3%	33.2%	22.2%	3.6%	2.3%	N/A	6.8%	4.6%
GIDL	21–23 Jun 2020	23.7%	34.7%	21.7%	4.2%	1.3%	N/A	8.2%	N/A
NewPartners	24–25 Jun 2020	28%	50%	6%	0%	1%	1%	13%	1%

Conduct

It was initially reported that representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) would arrive to the Dominican Republic on 13 February 2020 to monitor the elections.^[19][20][21] The general election to elect the President and members of the Dominican Republic parliament, which was postponed from the scheduled May 17, 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was later held on July 5, 2020.^[22][23]

Local media reported that the elections proceeded smoothly, except for one incident, when a person was shot inside a polling station after an argument erupted between rival party supporters.^[24]

Results

President

Luis Abinader won the presidential election in the first round, obtaining over 50% of the vote. During the election count, the ruling Dominican Liberation Party's candidate Gonzalo Castillo conceded defeat, stating that the official count "shows that there is an irreversible trend and that from now on we have a president-elect... Our congratulations to Mr Luis Abinader."^[7] Former President Leonel Fernández, who left the ruling party and ran for the presidency as a member of the People's Force party, also conceded defeat.^[7] Abinader was sworn in as President of the Dominican Republic on August 16, 2020.^[8]

Candidates	Party	Votes	%
Luis Abinader	Modern Revolutionary Party[a]	2,154,866	52.51
Gonzalo Castillo	Dominican Liberation Party[b]	1,537,078	37.46
Leonel Fernández	People's Force[c]	365,226	8.90
Guillermo Moreno García	Country Alliance	39,458	0.96
Ismael Reyes Cruz	Institutional Democratic Party	3,484	0.09
Juan Cohen	National Citizen Will Party	3,250	0.08
Invalid/blank votes		59,943	–
Total		4,163,305	100
Registered voters/turnout		7,529,932	55.29
Source: JCE

Senate

The Modern Revolutionary Party won an absolute majority in the Senate on their own, seeing their seat total increase by 15, while the ruling Dominican Liberation party lost over 75% of their prior seats.

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Modern Revolutionary Party	1,768,588	45.24	17	+15
Dominican Liberation Party	1,267,168	32.41	6	–20
People's Force	141,836	3.63	1	New
Social Christian Reformist Party	116,353	2.98	6	+5
Dominican Revolutionary Party	111,476	2.85	0	–1
National Unity Party	55,057	1.41	0	0
Country Alliance	54,209	1.39	0	0
Dominicans for Change	48,365	1.24	1	+1
Social Democratic Institutional Bloc	48,124	1.23	1	0
Civic Renovation Party	36,030	0.92	0	0
Alternative Democratic Movement	27,745	0.71	0	0
Liberal Reformist Party	25,276	0.65	0	–1
Broad Front	24,863	0.64	0	0
Revolutionary Social Democratic Party	23,093	0.59	0	0
Alliance for Democracy	20,868	0.53	0	0
Christian People's Party	18,817	0.48	0	0
Quisqueyano Christian Democratic Party	17,125	0.44	0	0
Dominican Humanist Party	15,963	0.41	0	0
Liberal Party of Action	14,537	0.37	0	0
National Progressive Force	14,485	0.37	0	0
Christian Democratic Union	12,392	0.32	0	0
Possible Country	11,136	0.28	0	New
Independent Revolutionary Party	9,628	0.25	0	0
People's Democratic Party	9,568	0.24	0	0
Institutional Democratic Party	8,971	0.23	0	0
National Citizen Will Party	7,651	0.19	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	120,562	–	–	–
Total	4,029,886	100	32	0
Registered voters/turnout	6,934,053	58.12	–	–
Source: JCE

Chamber of Deputies

The Modern Revolutionary Party won a plurality of votes and seats, seeing their seat count more than double. The ruling Dominican Liberation Party lost nearly 30% of their prior seats. No party has a majority on their own in the Chamber, meaning alliances or coalitions will need to be made to guarantee the passage of bills. A total of 96 seats is needed for a majority.

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Modern Revolutionary Party	1,634,860	40.84	86	+44
Dominican Liberation Party	1,261,802	31.52	75	–31
Dominican Revolutionary Party	220,939	5.52	4	–12
People's Force	170,993	4.27	3	New
Social Christian Reformist Party	165,800	4.14	6	–12
Country Alliance	71,899	1.80	2	+1
Dominicans for Change	45,162	1.13	2	+2
Dominican Humanist Party	42,597	1.06	1	+1
Civic Renovation Party	39,589	0.99	1	+1
Social Democratic Institutional Bloc	37,235	0.93	2	+2
Revolutionary Social Democratic Party	33,362	0.83	1	+1
Alternative Democratic Movement	32,723	0.82	0	–1
Broad Front	30,429	0.76	3	+2
National Unity Party	27,600	0.69	0	0
Alliance for Democracy	26,570	0.66	2	+2
Christian People's Party	20,894	0.52	0	–1
Quisqueyano Christian Democratic Party	19,414	0.49	1	0
Christian Democratic Union	18,199	0.46	0	0
Liberal Party of Action	17,655	0.44	0	0
Liberal Reformist Party	15,652	0.39	1	–2
Possible Country	15,346	0.38	0	New
National Citizen Will Party	12,517	0.31	0	0
Independent Revolutionary Party	12,368	0.31	0	0
National Progressive Force	10,959	0.27	0	0
People's Democratic Party	10,598	0.27	0	0
Institutional Democratic Party	7,997	0.20	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	151,946	–	–	–
Total	4,003,159	100	190	0
Registered voters/turnout	7,529,932	55.18	–	–
Source: JCE, JCE

Notes

1. In alliance with the Revolutionary Social Democratic Party, Dominican Humanist Party, Alliance for Democracy, País Posible, Broad Front, and the Dominicans for Change Party
2. In alliance with the Alternative Democratic Movement, Christian Democratic Union Party, Civic Renovation Party, Popular Democratic Party, Independent Revolutionary Party, and Dominican Revolutionary Party
3. In alliance with the Social Christian Reformist Party, Institutional Socialist Democratic Bloc, National Unity Party, National Progressive Force, and Quisqueyano Christian Democratic Party

References

1. "Padrón para las elecciones de mayo tendrá un incremento de más de 69 mil electores" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
2. "La JCE pospone las elecciones presidenciales y congresuales para el 5 de julio" (in Spanish). Diario Libre. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. "Elecciones de 2020 son un reto para la JCE" (in Spanish). El Día. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
4. "Este será el orden de los partidos en la próxima boleta electoral" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
5. "Candidatos presidenciales podrán gastar más de 900 millones durante campaña electoral" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
6. "La JCE aprueba tres formatos distintos para boletas de mayo" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
7. BBC News (6 July 2020). "Change in Dominican Republic as opposition wins presidency". Yahoo News. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
8. Associated Press (16 August 2020). "Luis Abinader Sworn in as Dominican Leader; Pompeo Attends". U.S. News. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
9. Senado (Senate) IPU
10. Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) IPU
11. "Once partidos gestan coalición para desplazar al PLD del poder" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
12. "Luis derrotaría fácil a Gonzalo y a Leonel en primera vuelta, según encuesta". Acento (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
13. Diario, Listin (10 December 2019). "Encuesta otorga mayoría de simpatías a Luis Abinader". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
14. "Resumen y Predicciones de Encuestas Elecciones 2020 Republica Dominicana". ElInfluyente.com. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
15. Hoy (1 June 2020). "Encuesta dice ya Gonzalo Castillo está arriba de Luis Abinader en primera y segunda vuelta | Hoy Digital" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
16. Diario, Listin (21 June 2020). "Encuesta da a Gonzalo 43.6%, Abinader 40.4% y Leonel 10.1%". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 June 2020.
17. Noticias, R. C. (21 June 2020). "Gonzalo Castillo ganaría las elecciones con una ventaja de más de 3 puntos frente a Luis Abinader, según encuesta". Roberto Cavada (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 June 2020.
18. Noticias, R. C. (5 May 2020). "Abinader ganaría elecciones con 46 %; Gonzalo Castillo 26 % y Leonel Fernández 21 %, según encuesta Datamarket". Roberto Cavada (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2020.
19. "Misión de OEA observará elecciones del 2020 en República Dominicana" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
20. "Observadores electorales de la OEA harán visita preliminar la próxima semana" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
21. "JCE recibirá observadores de 20 países para elecciones municipales" (in Spanish). Listin Diario. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
22. "Dominicans vote in election postponed over virus". 5 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
23. "Polls open in Dominican Republic presidential election". France 24. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
24. https://news.yahoo.com/dominican-republic-votes-election-postponed-004941501.html