Waging Peace:  Dominican Republic

Monitoring Elections
The Carter Center, in conjunction with the National Democratic Institute, has monitored numerous elections in the Dominican Republic. The Americas Program's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas observed the election of President Joaquin Balaguer in 1990, a presidential election runoff in 1996, and a free and much-improved election in May 2000.

May 2000 Elections
A joint NDI/Carter Center delegation praised the May 2000 elections after Dominicans went to the polls in numbers rarely matched by other nations in the Western Hemisphere. The observers said the administration of the elections was enhanced by a new, modernized registry and by verification of the registry prior to the election. The delegation noted that partisan selection of the supreme election authorities by the Senate led to citizen allegations of partisanship throughout the process. In addition, on election day, the delegation observed that some voters were unable to vote, abandoned their effort to vote, or could not travel to newly assigned polling sites and that others left without voting due to a long voting process in cramped sites.

1996 Presidential Election
The 1996 presidential election was seen as an important step in the consolidation of democracy after the Pact for Democracy, signed in 1994 by President Balaguer and opposition parties, called for a new voting procedure, a new presidential election in two years, and a runoff election should no candidate win a majority. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Colombia President Belasario Betancur led a pre-election mission to the country in April 1996 and returned for a runoff June 30 in which Leonel Fernandez won.

1994 Elections
Although The Carter Center did not observe the 1994 elections, an NDI delegation noted that irregularities in the electoral process could have affected the outcome. Following the election, the pact was signed.

1990 Elections
The 1990 observer mission heard many questioning the election and the vote count, although the delegation did not receive adequate evidence of irregularities that would have affected the outcome, which was a narrow victory for President Joaquin Balaguer.