General Information
Dominican Republic: Parliament, 15 May 2016
At stake in this election:
- 183 seats in the Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies)
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (since 16 August 2012)
- Head of Government: President Danilo MEDINA Sanchez (since 16 August 2012)
- Assembly: Dominican Republic has a bicameral Congreso Nacional (National Congress) consisting of the Senado (Senate) with 32 seats and the Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) with 183 seats. Members of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies serve for 4-year terms.
Description of electoral system:
- Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms.
Last Election:
- Elections for the Chamber of Deputies were last held on 16 May 2010.[1] The ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) took 105 seats, while the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) took 75 and the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) won 3.
Main parties in the election:
- Dominican Liberation Party (PLD)/Partido de la Liberación Dominicana
- Leader: Leonel FERNANDEZ
- Seats won in last election: 105
- Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD)/Partido Revolucionario Dominicano
- Leader: Miguel VARGAS
- Seats won in last election: 75
- Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC)/Partido Reformista Social Cristiano
- Leader: Federico Antun BATLLE
- Seats won in last election: 3
- Alliance for Democracy (APD)/Alianza por la Democracia
- Leader: Minou Tavárez MIRABAL (current presidential candidate)
- Seats won in last election: N/A
- National Unity Party (PUN)/Partido de Unidad Nacional
- Leader: Soraya AQUINO (party’s presidential candidate)
- Seats won in last election: N/A
Population and number of registered voters:
· Population: 10,478,756 (July 2015 est.)
· Registered Voters: 6,502,968 (2012)
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 5,173,950 (July 2015 est.)
· Is Dominican Republic a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
· Has Dominican Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 September 1982)
· Gender Quota: Yes[2]
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 41 (19.07%)[3]
· 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: 1,571,813
[1] Elections were last held in 2010, and the current term was extended to 6 years to synchronize congressional and presidential elections. Following the 2016 election, terms will revert to a 4-year period.
[2] The Dominican Republic has a gender quota for the Chamber of Deputies but not for the Senate. The gender quota requires that political parties must include at least 33% female candidates on the candidate list.
[3] There are 38 women serving in the Chamber of Deputies (20.77%) and 3 women in the Senate (9.38%).