| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Congreso de la República / Congress of the Republic |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Senado / Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
16 May 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 16 May 2006
the first parliamentary elections under the presidency of Mr. Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) took place for both chambers of Congress. President Fernández
who had been elected in May 2004
had succeeded former president Mr. Hipólito Mejía of the centre-left Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) amid a financial and political crisis.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2002
the PRD won 73 of the 150 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 29 of the 32 seats in the Senate. The PLD took 41 seats in the House of Representatives and only one in the Senate. The Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) took 36 and two seats respectively. The PRD used its parliamentary strength to block many of the projects presented by President Fernández
including the establishment of an underground transport system in the capital Santo Domingo.
In the 2006 elections
for which 22 parties fielded candidates
two main electoral coalitions were formed: one by the PLD and five other parties (also known as the Progressive Bloc); and the other by the PRD and the PRSC with six other parties (also known as the Grand National Alliance).
The economy was the main issue in the 2006 election campaigns. Under the presidency of Mr. Mejía
the country had experienced 42 per cent inflation and a 65 per cent devaluation of the Dominican peso. President Fernández subsequently focused on stabilizing the currency in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The inflation rate fell and GDP growth reached 7 per cent in 2005. Following the country's economic recovery
a victory for the PLD-led coalition was widely predicted. Both coalitions supported the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
Turnout was 56.46 per cent
a record high for parliamentary elections in the country. Although some violence was reported prior to the election date
the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded that citizens were able to freely exercise their right to vote.
The final results gave a clear victory to the PLD
with 96 seats in the enlarged 178-member Chamber of Deputies and 22 seats in the Senate. The PRD/PRSC-led coalition took respectively 82 and ten seats.
The newly-elected Congress held its first session on 16 August 2006 and elected Mr. Julio César Valentín (PLD) as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies
while the Senate elected Mr. Reinaldo Pared Pérez of the same party as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 16 May 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'492'880
3'101'071 (56.46%)
110'040
2'991'031 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) - Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) Coalition |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) |
22
|
|
|
|
|
| Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) - Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) Coalition |
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
31
1
3.13%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source: http://www.jce.do/
The PLD-led coalition included the following parties:
- Institutional Social Democratic Bloc
- Alliance for Democracy
- Christian Democratic Party
- Dominican Workers' Party
- Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic
The PLD won 96 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 seats in the Senate.
Its allies did not win any seats.
The coalition led by the PRD and PRSC included the following parties:
- National Unity Party
- "Quisqueyano" Christian Democratic Party
- Green Party of Democratic Unity
- National Civic Veterans' Party
- Dominican Social Alliance
- Popular Democratic Party
- Christian People's Party
The PRSC won 22 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
and three seats in the Senate.
The PRD took respectively 60 and seven seats. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
