Dominican Republic general election, 1986
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in the Dominican Republic
on 16 May 1986. Joaquín Balaguer
of the Social Christian Reformist Party
won the presidential election, whilst the PRSC-led alliance won the Congressional elections. Voter turnout was 72.2%.
was vacating after serving 4 years in government. Although he was constitutionally allowed to run for a second term, his Dominican Revolutionary Party
had a strict anti-re-election ideology.
was next in line for his party's nomination. Majluta was Vice President under Antonio Guzmán Fernández
and had served as President for 43 days after Guzmán committed suicide. After having been defeated by Jorge Blanco
for the nomination in 1982
, he was given the candidacy for Santo Domingo
Senator and President of the Senate (a similar deal had been done by Blanco and Guzmán in 1978) which he won. From this position he engaged a fierce battle with the faction of the party led by Blanco and so the latter tried putting Secretary of State Hatuey Decamps against Majluta for the nomination but someone so close to the unpopular government could not stop Majluta who had become the most vocal critic of the administration. Blanco supporters then turned to party leader and Mayor of Santo Domingo, the popular José Francisco Peña Gómez
. At first he did not accept it (neither declined it) but after surviving a heart attack he believed it was his destiny to become President and so he decided to run against his once closest party colleague. The race was extremely close and divisive, even causing a shoot out at the Concorde Hotel but when results came in, Majluta was declared the winner.
The post-convention process was traumatizing and many PRD members refused to endorse Majluta. Some Gomez supporters even went as far as to endorse Juan Bosch
. Carlos Andrés Pérez
President of Venezuela and strong activist of Socialist International
campaigned for Gomez to be included on the ticket as Vice President but Majluta said he preferred to lose than to win alongside Peña Gomez whom he felt had betrayed him by competing against him. A deal similar to the one Guzmán had made with Blanco and the latter with Majluta was offered to Gomez but he declined calling it a "cursed gift". Ultimately Nicolas Vargas of Santiago was chosen as running mate.
, a successful businessman as his running mate.
received no opposition for the nomination of the Dominican Liberation Party
, which he had founded after splitting from the PRD in 1973. His running mate was former rector of the University of Santo Domingo, Jose Joaquin Bido Medina.
and famous lawyer Vincho Castillo was the candidate of his Fuerza Nacional Progresista.
Bosch campaigned hard against alleged corruption in the Guzmán and Jorge Blanco administration even publishing what his party called the "corruption album" which consisted of pictures that were claimed to be proof of illicit enrichment of his former party mates. Attacks were also directed towards Balaguer bringing up the deaths of "the 12 years". A popular slogan during the PLD campaign was "Juan Bosch ni robo ni mato!" a reference to the lack of corruption or political murders during Juan Bosch's Presidency in 1963.
The PRD was quick to answer with "Juan Bosch ni robo ni mato...porque tiempo no le dio" poking fun at the fact that Bosch was only in government for 7 months and therefore lacked the time to do the things he accused his opponents of.
Due to the unpopularity of the Jorge Blanco administration and therefore the PRD party itself, Majluta created the Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic
which would form an alliance with the PRD so that he could try and get voters who detested the incumbent party. His candidacy was also supported by Constitutional Action Party and Nationalist Democratic Party. Negotiations were also held with Elías Wessin y Wessin
leader of the Democratic Quisqueya Party but these fell apart and Wessin ultimately supported Balaguer, whom he had tried to overthrow in 1971 and was exiled for it.
Balaguer conducted a vigorous campaign which attracted many young voters and old foes. Besides Wessin, he was now also supported by Donald Reid Cabral
ex-President of the triunvirate that ruled the country while Balaguer was in exile, Mario Read Vittini, and many communists who had fought him in the past, including Tacito Perdomo.
After a bloody riot in 1984 which resulted in the deaths of hundres of people, the PRD could no longer attack Balaguer for the dark past of his previous governments which enabled him to get much of the youth vote.
Balaguer supporters chanted "vuelve y vuelve!" at the political rallies as their victory chant referring to his possible return to the Presidency. The 80-year old caudillo
was attacked due to his blindness during the campaign to which he responded As President I will not be asked to thread needles.
Since Majluta's picture would be on four different party's ballots he feared that the less enlighthened voters who made up the PRD's core would cast votes for him in all four and thus spoiling the vote. He spent precious time campaigning to educate voters to only cast a vote for him on one ballot.
, the vote counting was resumed on May 21 only to be stopped again on the 22nd.
A month passed and there was still uncertainty over who had really won the election but Balaguer's margin had grown and ended up surpassing the number of invalid votes. Jacobo faced with the lack of support from his own party, popular impatience growing and Balaguer recognized as the winner by the PLD finally conceded and Balaguer after being declared a political corpse and his political career seen as a thing of the past became President for a fourth time.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
on 16 May 1986. Joaquín Balaguer
Joaquín Balaguer
Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo was the President of the Dominican Republic from 1960 to 1962, from 1966 to 1978, and again from 1986 to 1996.-Early life and introduction to politics:...
of the Social Christian Reformist Party
Social Christian Reformist Party
The Social Christian Reformist Party is a conservative, christian democratic, economic liberal and a populist party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano...
won the presidential election, whilst the PRSC-led alliance won the Congressional elections. Voter turnout was 72.2%.
Presidential election
The incumbent Salvador Jorge BlancoSalvador Jorge Blanco
José Salvador Omar Jorge Blanco was a politician, lawyer and a writer. He was the 48th President of the Dominican Republic, from 1982 –1986. He was a Senator running for the PRD party...
was vacating after serving 4 years in government. Although he was constitutionally allowed to run for a second term, his Dominican Revolutionary Party
Dominican Revolutionary Party
The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white....
had a strict anti-re-election ideology.
Dominican Revolutionary Party
Since the PRD had a strict anti-re-election stance, it was assumed that Jacobo MajlutaJacobo Majluta Azar
Jacobo Majluta Azar was born in Santo Domingo, on 9 October 1934 and died on 2 March 1996. A politician from Dominican Republic of Lebanese descent, he was vice president in the government of President Antonio Guzmán and became president, for 43 days, with the suicide of President Guzmán.He joined...
was next in line for his party's nomination. Majluta was Vice President under Antonio Guzmán Fernández
Antonio Guzmán Fernández
Silvestre Antonio Guzmán Fernández was a Dominican businessman and a politician. He was the 46th President of the Dominican Republic, from 1978 to 1982.- Early life :Antonio Guzmán was born in the town of La Vega...
and had served as President for 43 days after Guzmán committed suicide. After having been defeated by Jorge Blanco
Jorge Blanco
Jorge Blanco is an artist from Venezuela before he emigrated to the United States in 1999. Jorge Blanco is currently residing in Sarasota, Florida. He has spent his professional career working as a sculptor, graphic designer and illustrator...
for the nomination in 1982
Dominican Republic general election, 1982
General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1982. Salvador Jorge Blanco of the Dominican Revolutionary Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was 71.6%.-President:...
, he was given the candidacy for Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
Senator and President of the Senate (a similar deal had been done by Blanco and Guzmán in 1978) which he won. From this position he engaged a fierce battle with the faction of the party led by Blanco and so the latter tried putting Secretary of State Hatuey Decamps against Majluta for the nomination but someone so close to the unpopular government could not stop Majluta who had become the most vocal critic of the administration. Blanco supporters then turned to party leader and Mayor of Santo Domingo, the popular José Francisco Peña Gómez
José Francisco Peña Gómez
José Francisco Peña Gómez was a politician from the Dominican Republic. He was the leader of the Dominican Revolutionary Party , a three-time candidate for president of the Dominican Republic and former Mayor of Santo Domingo...
. At first he did not accept it (neither declined it) but after surviving a heart attack he believed it was his destiny to become President and so he decided to run against his once closest party colleague. The race was extremely close and divisive, even causing a shoot out at the Concorde Hotel but when results came in, Majluta was declared the winner.
The post-convention process was traumatizing and many PRD members refused to endorse Majluta. Some Gomez supporters even went as far as to endorse Juan Bosch
Juan Bosch
Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first cleanly elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael...
. Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
President of Venezuela and strong activist of Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
campaigned for Gomez to be included on the ticket as Vice President but Majluta said he preferred to lose than to win alongside Peña Gomez whom he felt had betrayed him by competing against him. A deal similar to the one Guzmán had made with Blanco and the latter with Majluta was offered to Gomez but he declined calling it a "cursed gift". Ultimately Nicolas Vargas of Santiago was chosen as running mate.
PRSC
Ever since the foundation of the Reformist Party, Joaquín Balaguer had been its candidate in the presidential elections, a position which continued after the merger with the Christian Social Revolutionary Party to create the Christian Social Reformist Party. This caused some disgust among young reformers like Victor Gomez Berge and Fernando Alvarez Bogaert who claimed that Balaguer was too old (80) to run for the presidency, but he ultimately achieved the nomination with only token opposition from Julio Cesar Castaños Espaillat who only received one vote (his own). Balaguer chose Carlos Morales TroncosoCarlos Morales Troncoso
Carlos Morales Troncoso is a Dominican politician who currently serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic since 2004.-Family background:...
, a successful businessman as his running mate.
PLD
Juan BoschJuan Bosch
Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first cleanly elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael...
received no opposition for the nomination of the Dominican Liberation Party
Dominican Liberation Party
The Dominican Liberation Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a centrist position.The party has been elected into office thrice now with Leonel Fernández as President of the Dominican Republic in the 1996, 2004 and 2008 elections, though losing in 2000...
, which he had founded after splitting from the PRD in 1973. His running mate was former rector of the University of Santo Domingo, Jose Joaquin Bido Medina.
Minor parties
Narciso Isa Conde was candidate for Dominican Communist PartyDominican Communist Party
The Dominican Communist Party was a political party in the Dominican Republic. The party was founded in 1944 under the name Dominican Revolutionary Democratic Party. The party worked under the name Dominican Popular Socialist Party 1946-1965. In August 1965 the name was again changed, to Dominican...
and famous lawyer Vincho Castillo was the candidate of his Fuerza Nacional Progresista.
Campaign
After eight years of PRD governments, the once great popularity of the white party was becoming mild while former President Joaquín Balaguer was surging as an alternative among the new voters and Juan Bosch was attracting dissatisfied PRD voters.Bosch campaigned hard against alleged corruption in the Guzmán and Jorge Blanco administration even publishing what his party called the "corruption album" which consisted of pictures that were claimed to be proof of illicit enrichment of his former party mates. Attacks were also directed towards Balaguer bringing up the deaths of "the 12 years". A popular slogan during the PLD campaign was "Juan Bosch ni robo ni mato!" a reference to the lack of corruption or political murders during Juan Bosch's Presidency in 1963.
The PRD was quick to answer with "Juan Bosch ni robo ni mato...porque tiempo no le dio" poking fun at the fact that Bosch was only in government for 7 months and therefore lacked the time to do the things he accused his opponents of.
Due to the unpopularity of the Jorge Blanco administration and therefore the PRD party itself, Majluta created the Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic
Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic
The Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic is a liberal political party in the Dominican Republic. The party was originally named La Estructura, the name under which it contested the 1986 general elections as part of an alliance with the defeated Dominican Revolutionary Party. For the 1990...
which would form an alliance with the PRD so that he could try and get voters who detested the incumbent party. His candidacy was also supported by Constitutional Action Party and Nationalist Democratic Party. Negotiations were also held with Elías Wessin y Wessin
Elías Wessin y Wessin
Elías Wessin y Wessin was a Dominican politician and Dominican Air Force general. Wessin led the military coup which ousted the government of Dominican President Juan Bosch in 1963, replacing it with a triumvirate...
leader of the Democratic Quisqueya Party but these fell apart and Wessin ultimately supported Balaguer, whom he had tried to overthrow in 1971 and was exiled for it.
Balaguer conducted a vigorous campaign which attracted many young voters and old foes. Besides Wessin, he was now also supported by Donald Reid Cabral
Donald Reid Cabral
Joseph Donald Reid Cabral was a former leader of the Dominican Republic. He chaired the "triumvirate" from December 29, 1963.- Biography :...
ex-President of the triunvirate that ruled the country while Balaguer was in exile, Mario Read Vittini, and many communists who had fought him in the past, including Tacito Perdomo.
After a bloody riot in 1984 which resulted in the deaths of hundres of people, the PRD could no longer attack Balaguer for the dark past of his previous governments which enabled him to get much of the youth vote.
Balaguer supporters chanted "vuelve y vuelve!" at the political rallies as their victory chant referring to his possible return to the Presidency. The 80-year old caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
was attacked due to his blindness during the campaign to which he responded As President I will not be asked to thread needles.
Since Majluta's picture would be on four different party's ballots he feared that the less enlighthened voters who made up the PRD's core would cast votes for him in all four and thus spoiling the vote. He spent precious time campaigning to educate voters to only cast a vote for him on one ballot.
President
What Majluta so greatly feared came to be when vote counts showed a great number of invalid votes. Balaguer had a lead over him but the number of invalid votes was bigger than that of the margin of victory. Jacobo tried to get the ballots counted since the great majority of these were ballots that had his face marked multiple times on the PRD and Liberal Party tickets and therefore were undeniable cast for him. On 19 May, with 92% of the votes counted, the vote count was halted and guards were placed outside the Central Elections Board and Majluta declared himself the winner despite being behind Balaguer in the tally. After appeals from Salvador Jorge BlancoSalvador Jorge Blanco
José Salvador Omar Jorge Blanco was a politician, lawyer and a writer. He was the 48th President of the Dominican Republic, from 1982 –1986. He was a Senator running for the PRD party...
, the vote counting was resumed on May 21 only to be stopped again on the 22nd.
A month passed and there was still uncertainty over who had really won the election but Balaguer's margin had grown and ended up surpassing the number of invalid votes. Jacobo faced with the lack of support from his own party, popular impatience growing and Balaguer recognized as the winner by the PLD finally conceded and Balaguer after being declared a political corpse and his political career seen as a thing of the past became President for a fourth time.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joaquín Balaguer Joaquín Balaguer Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo was the President of the Dominican Republic from 1960 to 1962, from 1966 to 1978, and again from 1986 to 1996.-Early life and introduction to politics:... |
Social Christian Reformist Party Social Christian Reformist Party The Social Christian Reformist Party is a conservative, christian democratic, economic liberal and a populist party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano... |
877,378 | 41.6 |
| Jacobo Majluta Azar Jacobo Majluta Azar Jacobo Majluta Azar was born in Santo Domingo, on 9 October 1934 and died on 2 March 1996. A politician from Dominican Republic of Lebanese descent, he was vice president in the government of President Antonio Guzmán and became president, for 43 days, with the suicide of President Guzmán.He joined... |
Dominican Revolutionary Party Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white.... |
828,209 | 39.2 |
| Juan Bosch Juan Bosch Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was a politician, historian, short story writer, essayist, educator, and the first cleanly elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael... |
Dominican Liberation Party Dominican Liberation Party The Dominican Liberation Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a centrist position.The party has been elected into office thrice now with Leonel Fernández as President of the Dominican Republic in the 1996, 2004 and 2008 elections, though losing in 2000... |
378,881 | 18.4 |
| Marino Vinicio Castillo Marino Vinicio Castillo Marino Vinicio Castillo Rodríguez, better known as Vincho, is a prominent Dominican lawyer, and controversial figure in Dominican politics... |
National Progressive Force National Progressive Force The Fuerza Nacional Progresista —or National Progressive Force , is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a center-right position... |
6,684 | 0.3 |
| Narciso Isa Conde | Dominican Communist Party Dominican Communist Party The Dominican Communist Party was a political party in the Dominican Republic. The party was founded in 1944 under the name Dominican Revolutionary Democratic Party. The party worked under the name Dominican Popular Socialist Party 1946-1965. In August 1965 the name was again changed, to Dominican... |
5,021 | 0.2 |
| Jorge Martínez Lavandier | Nationalist Democratic Party | 1,202 | 0.1 |
| Other candidates | 15,370 | 0.7 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 83,710 | ||
| Total | 2,195,455 | 100 | |
| Source: Nohlen | |||
Congress
| Party | Votes | % | House | Senate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | +/- | Seats | +/- | |||
| PRSC Social Christian Reformist Party The Social Christian Reformist Party is a conservative, christian democratic, economic liberal and a populist party in the Dominican Republic formed by the union of the Partido Reformista and the Partido Revolucionario Social Cristiano... -PQD-PNVC National Civic Veterans Party The National Civic Veterans Party is a minor political party in the Dominican Republic. It first contested national elections in 1982 when it won 1.6% of the vote, but failed to win a seat. For the 1986 and 1990 elections it was part of the victorious Social Christian Reformist Party-led coalition... |
877,830 | 41.6 | 56 | 21 | ||
| PRD Dominican Revolutionary Party The Dominican Revolutionary Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate centrist position, social democratic in name. The party's distinctive color is white.... -PPC Christian People's Party (Dominican Republic) The Christian People's Party is a minor political party in the Dominican Republic. It first contested national elections in 1986, when it was part of the Dominican Revolutionary Party-led alliance which lost to the Social Christian Reformist Party coalition. In the 1990 elections it formed an... -MCN-UD-LE Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic The Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic is a liberal political party in the Dominican Republic. The party was originally named La Estructura, the name under which it contested the 1986 general elections as part of an alliance with the defeated Dominican Revolutionary Party. For the 1990... |
828,209 | 39.2 | 48 | |||
| 7 | ||||||
| Dominican Liberation Party Dominican Liberation Party The Dominican Liberation Party is one of the main political parties of the Dominican Republic, and has a centrist position.The party has been elected into office thrice now with Leonel Fernández as President of the Dominican Republic in the 1996, 2004 and 2008 elections, though losing in 2000... |
387,881 | 18.4 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Other parties | 18,275 | 0.9 | 0 | |||
| 0 | ||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 83,903 | |||||
| Total | 2,195,648 | 100 | 120 | 0 | 30 | +3 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||||