Dominican Republic general election, 1978

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Dominican Republic presidential election, 1978
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←  1974 16 May 1978 (1978-05-16) 1982  →

  Antonio Guzman.jpg Joaquin Balaguer 1977.jpg
Nominee Antonio Guzmán Joaquín Balaguer
Party PRD PR
Popular vote866,912711,878
Percentage52.4%43.0%
President before election

Joaquín Balaguer
PR

Elected President

Antonio Guzmán
PRD

General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1978. [1] Following diplomatic pressure from American President Jimmy Carter, the elections were free and competitive and contested by all political parties, unlike the previous elections in the 1970s. [2] Antonio Guzmán Fernández won the presidential election, whilst his Dominican Revolutionary Party (which had not contested the 1970 and 1974 elections) won the Congressional elections. Voter turnout was 75.8%. [3]

Dominican Republic country in the Caribbean

The Dominican Republic is a country located in the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two sovereign states. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and third by population with approximately 10 million people, of which approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Jimmy Carter 39th president of the United States

James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician and philanthropist who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A Democrat, he previously served as a Georgia State senator from 1963 to 1967 and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-presidency, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding the Carter Center.

Contents

When counting showed an unmistakable trend toward Guzmán, the Army attempted a coup and interrupted the vote count, only to back down amid protests at home and strong pressure from abroad. The final count showed Balaguer had suffered the first defeat of his career. [2] [4] [5] Although Guzmán was allowed to assume the presidency, the Central Elections Authority redistributed the uncast votes equally between the PRD and the Reformist Party, diminishing the PRD's majority in Congress. [2]

Social Christian Reformist Party

The Social Christian Reformist Party is a Christian democratic right-wing political party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano. Some of the PRSC's founders and leaders were originally business leaders and Roman Catholics who opposed the communist, socialist, democratic socialist and social democratic tendencies of Juan Bosch, of the PRD and PLD, respectively.

Guzmán's swearing-in on 16 August marked the first time in the country's history that a sitting government had peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition.

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Antonio Guzmán Fernández Dominican Revolutionary Party 866,91252.4
Joaquín Balaguer Reformist Party 711,87843.0
Francisco Lora Movement of Democratic Integration 27,0951.6
Juan Bosch Dominican Liberation Party 18,3751.1
Narciso Isa Conde Dominican Communist Party 9,8280.6
Alfonso Lockward Social Christian Revolutionary Party 7,9810.5
Luis Julián PérezNational Salvation Movement7,7820.5
Luis Homero Lajara Burgos Popular Democratic Party 5,9560.4
Invalid/blank votes85,530–
Total1,741,337100
Source: Nohlen

Congress

PartyVotes%HouseSenate
Seats+/–Seats+/–
Dominican Revolutionary Party 838,97350.148New16New
Reformist Party 692,14642.143–3211–12
Dominican Liberation Party 18,5651.10New0New
Movement of Democratic Integration 13,3170.80New0New
National Civic Union13,3160.80New0New
Social Democratic Alliance11,0560.70New0New
Dominican Communist Party 10,7510.70New0New
Movement of National Reconciliation7,7430.50New0New
National Salvation Movement7,7270.50New0New
Democratic Quisqueyano Party 5,9840.40New0New
Popular Democratic Party 5,6670.30–300
Movimento Popular Justicialista9,2260.60New0New
Movimento Revolucionario del Pueblo0New0New
Movimento Municipal del Pueblo0–100
Movimento Restaurador Santuagúes0New0New
Movimento Unión Provincial Independiente0New0New
Invalid/blank votes85,530–––––
Total1,731,095100910270
Source: Nohlen

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References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p247 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. 1 2 3 Nohlen, p241
  3. ↑ Nohlen, p248
  4. ↑ Dominican Republic Inter-Parliamentary Union
  5. ↑ Buckman, Robert T. (2007). The World Today Series: Latin America 2007. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications. ISBN   978-1-887985-84-0.
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