At stake in this election:

• 149 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna
• Head of Government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna
• Assembly: Dominican Republic has a bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 30 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) with 149 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado) 30 members are elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) 149 members are elected by party list to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD)
  • Leader: Jose Francisco PENA Gomez
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 24
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 15
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 83
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 57
• Party: Dominican Liberation Party (PLD)
  • Leader: Lidio CADET
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 1
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 49
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 13
• Party: Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC)
  • Leader: Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 2
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 14
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 17
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 50
• Party: Other Parties
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A

Last Legislative election:

• Legislative elections were last held on May 16, 1994.
  Seats decided in the last election to the Chamber of Deputies: 120
  Seats decided in the last election to the Senate: 30

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,296,375 (1998)
• Registered Voters: 4,129,554 ( 1998 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,131,594 (1998)

·         Is Dominican Republic a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Dominican Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 September 1982)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (Chamber of Deputies); 2 (Senate) (following the 1998 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 101 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Dominican Republic a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Dominican Republic ratified CRPD: Yes (18 August 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,244,456 (est.)