General elections were held in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

on 16 May 1978.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p247 Following diplomatic pressure from

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, the elections were free and competitive and contested by all political parties, unlike the previous elections in the 1970s.Nohlen, p241

Antonio Guzmán Fernández Silvestre Antonio Guzmán Fernández (12 February 1911 – 4 July 1982), best known as Antonio Guzmán, was a Dominican businessman and a politician who served as the 46th president of the Dominican Republic from 1978 until his death in 1982. ...

won the presidential election, whilst his

Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party (, PRD) is a political party in the Dominican Republic. Traditionally a left-of-centre party and social democratic in nature, the party has shifted since the 2000s toward the political centre. The party's dist ...

(which had not contested the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

and

1974 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1974. Africa * 1974 Botswana general election * 1974 Guinean general election * 1974 Kenyan general election * 1974 Rhodesian general election * 1974 Seychellois parliamentary election * 1974 South Af ...

) won the Congressional elections. Voter turnout was 76%. When counting showed an unmistakable trend toward Guzmán, the Army attempted to stage a coup in favor of incumbent

Joaquín Balaguer Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo (1 September 1906 – 14 July 2002) was a Dominican politician, scholar, writer, and lawyer who was the 41st, 45th and 49th president of the Dominican Republic serving three non-consecutive terms from 1960 t ...

. However, when the army tried to interrupt the vote count, it was forced 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, losing by almost 10 points.Dominican Republic
Inter-Parliamentary Union 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. 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

Congress

References

{{Dominican Republic elections Dominican

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Elections in the Dominican Republic Presidential elections in the Dominican Republic Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Dominican