Politics of the Dominican Republic

The Executive is charged with the daily administration of the state, subject to the oversight of the judicial and legislative branches. The President functions as the head of state, the head of government, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Dominican Armed Forces.

The Dominican Cabinet is responsible for assisting the president in his duty to govern the nation and the President appoints ministers as he sees appropriate.

The President and Vice President are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term without immediate re-election. After at least one constitutional term, a person who has held the post of President before may run for this Office again, according to the last amendment made to the Constitution in 2010. Elections are held in years evenly divisible by four.

The Dominican Constitution takes twenty-seven paragraphs to spell out the president's extensive powers. Among the most important are those that grant him authority over virtually all appointments and removals of public officials, and even popular elected ones; empower him to promulgate the laws passed by Congress; direct him to engage in diplomatic relations; and empower him to command, to deploy, and to make appointments in, the armed forces. The president also has vast emergency powers to suspend basic rights in times of emergency, to defer the legislature, to declare a state of siege, and to rule by decree.

The 1966 Constitution provides for ministers and subcabinet ministers to assist in public administration. These officials must be Dominican citizens, at least twenty-five years of age, with full civil and political rights. The powers of the ministers are determined by law. However, the president is constitutionally responsible for the actions of his ministers. Ministers serve at the president's discretion, and function both as administrators of their ministries and as agents of presidential authority.

Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la República). The upper house is the Senate (Senado) with 32 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies. The lower house is the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) with 178 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in accordance to each province, as follows: one deputy is elected for every 50,000 inhabitants plus fraction exceeding 25,000, but never less than two.

Among the attributions of the Senate are the following:

• Studying and approving laws.
• To appoint the President and other members of the Central Electoral Board and their deputies.
• To appoint the members of the Public Accounts Chamber.
• To approve or not the appointment of diplomatic agents made by the Executive.
• To decide on the claims of the Chamber of Deputies against public officers for misconduct or serious faults in the performance of their duties.
• In the event of public accusation, the Senate may only impose the sanction of removal from office. However, the removed officer may be subject to being tried according to the respective statutes, if applicable. For the removal of office, a vote of at least ¾ of all members of the Senate is required.

Congressional and municipal elections are held separately from the presidential elections. Re-election is always possible, without any limitation. The office of Senator and Deputy are incompatible with any other position or employment at the Public Administration.

The Judicial Power is charged of administering justice in order to ensure the respect, protection and supervision of rights recognized under the Constitution and laws. Its higher organ is the Supreme Court of Justice, which is composed of 16 judges appointed by the National Council of Magistrates, an entity created by the constitutional reform of 1994 to ensure the independence of the Judicial Branch.

The National Council of Magistrates is nominated by the three major political parties. It is presided by the President of the Republic and has the following members:

• The President of the Senate, and a Senator chosen by the Senate from a different party than the President of the Senate.
• The President of the Chamber of Deputies, and a Deputy chosen by the Chamber of Deputies from a different party than the President of the Chamber of Deputies.
• The current President of the Supreme Court of Justice.
• A judge of the Supreme Court of Justice chosen by this court, which serves as Secretary.

The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts (as a Court of Cassation) and chooses members of lower courts. It has sole jurisdiction over actions against the President, designated members of his cabinet, and members of Congress. It has administrative and financial autonomy.

Apart from working as an appeals court for all judgments rendered by judicial courts, the Supreme Court supervises all judges in the Dominican territory. Its judicial and administrative functions may be summarized as follows:

• To decide on appeals as statutorily established.
• To decide as last instance on the matters that are under the jurisdiction of Appeals Courts as court of first instance.
• To decide as only instance on the criminal cases against the President and Vice-president of the Republic, Senators, Deputies, Ministers, Vice-ministers, Supreme Court Judges, Public General Attorney, Judges and General Attorneys of Appeals Courts, State attorneys of the Land Courts and Judges of Administrative Courts.
• To decide as only instance on the constitutionality of laws, at the request of the Executive Power, one of the Presidents of the legislative chambers or an interested party.
• To appoint the judges of the Appeals court, the Land courts, the Courts of First Instance, the Judges of Instruction, the Peace Courts and their deputies, the Administrative-Tax Court and the judges of any other judicial courts created by law, according to the provisions of the Law on Judicial Career.
• To exercise the highest disciplinary authority on all members of the Judicial Power, being able to impose sanctions such as suspension, removal or prison.
• To transfer provisionally or definitively from one jurisdiction to another, as it may deem necessary, the judges of the Appeals Court, the judges of First Instance of the Land Courts, the Judges of Instruction, the Peace Judges and other court judges created by law.
• To create the administrative positions that may be necessary to comply with the attributions granted by the Constitution and laws.
• To appoint all officers and employees of the Judicial Power.
• To determine the wages and other payments of Judges and administrative personnel belonging to the Judicial Power.

Each of the 31 provinces is headed by a presidentially appointed governor. People-elected mayors and municipal councils administer the National District (Santo Domingo) and the 103 municipal districts.

The Dominican Republic has 31 provinces (provincias) and one National District* (Distrito Nacional): Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabón, Duarte, El Seibo, Elías Piña, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, María Trinidad Sánchez, Monseñor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Hermanas Mirabal, Samaná, Sánchez Ramírez, San Cristóbal, San José de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macorís, Santiago, Santiago Rodríguez, Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, and Valverde.

The Dominican Republic has a multi-party political system with national elections every four years. In two rounds of presidential elections in 1996, nearly 80% of eligible Dominican voters went to the polls. The leading parties in 1994 were the PRSC, linked to the International Christian Democratic political movement, whose candidate was President Joaquín Balaguer; the PRD, affiliated with the Socialist International, whose candidate was José Francisco Peña Gómez; and the PLD, whose candidate was former President Juan Bosch.

In the 1994 elections, international observers noted many irregularities in the voter lists, and the opposition PRD immediately charged the Central Electoral Board and the PRSC with fraud. A Verification Commission appointed by the Central Electoral Board, however, did not accept the PRD's charges. By all estimates, total disenfranchised voters far exceeded the 22,281-vote margin of victory in favor of President Balaguer on 2 August 1994.

Following an intense period of political activity, the competing political parties signed a Pact for Democracy on 10 August, reducing President Balaguer's term of office from 4 to 2 years, setting early elections, and reforming the constitution. A new Central Electoral Board was named to work on electoral reform. The main candidates in 1996 were Vice President Jacinto Peynado (PRSC), José Francisco Peña Gómez (PRD), and Leonel Fernández (PLD).

Domestic and international observers saw the 1996 election as transparent and fair. After the first round in which Jacinto Peynado (PRSC) was eliminated, the PRSC with Joaquín Balaguer endorsed Leonel Fernández (PLD). Results in the second round, 45 days later on 30 June, were tabulated quickly, and although the victory margin was narrow (1.5%), it was never questioned. The transition from incumbent administration to incoming administration was smooth and ushered in a new, modern era in Dominican political life.

Fernández' political agenda was one of economic and judicial reform. He helped enhance Dominican participation in hemispheric affairs, such as the Organization of American States and the follow-up to the Miami Summit. On 16 May 2000, Hipólito Mejía, the Revolutionary Democratic Party candidate, was elected president in another free and fair election. He defeated Dominican Liberation Party candidate Danilo Medina 49.8% to 24.84%. Former President Balaguer garnered 24.68% of the vote. Mejia entered office on 16 August with four priorities: education reform, economic development, increased agricultural production, and poverty alleviation. Mejía also champions the cause of Central American and Caribbean economic integration and migration, particularly as it relates to Haiti. On 16 May 2004, Leonel Fernández, running for the Dominican Liberation Party, garnered about 57% of the vote. On 16 May 2008, Leonel Fernández, running for the Dominican Liberation Party, garnered about 54% of the vote for a second consecutive term in office.

In 2012, Danilo Medina narrowly won election as president against Hipólito Mejía. An accord with former president Fernandez, ratified by the broad PLD leadership, called for a change in the constitution to allow a second consecutive term as president, but with Leonel Fernandez installed as the head of the PLD pending his turn as candidate for the presidency in 2020. The constitution was changed, and Medina won reelection by a wide margin against Luis Abinader of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM).

MejíaIn the runup to the 2020 presidential elections, supporters of President Medina pushed for an additional change to the country's constitution to permit a third term. While Medina himself publicly remained uncommitted to another term, a fierce struggle within the PLD ensued. Following demonstrations outside the congress led by Leonel Fernandez himself, and subsequently pressure from the United States (notably through a public readout of a call from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo), president Medina announced on July 22, 2019, that he would not run again, calling instead for "new blood" (i.e., not supporting ex-president Fernandez). Medina supports former Minister of Public Works Gonzalo Castillo against Fernandez in primaries for the PLD nomination scheduled for October 6. Within the PRM, Abinader is being challenged for the nomination by ex-president Mejía.

• Congress of the Dominican Republic
• Presidency of Dominican Republic
• Supreme Court of Justice of Dominican Republic
• Island Thresholds, Peabody Essex Museum's interactive feature, showcases the work of contemporary Caribbean artists and their exploration of identity, culture, and social justice.
• Political Database of the Americas - Dominican Constitution