General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 5 July 2020 to elect a president, vice-president, 32 senators and 190 deputies. They had originally been planned for 17 May, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. They are the second elections since 1994 in which all positions will be elected simultaneously, and the first in Dominican history in which all authorities will be elected simultaneously and directly.

Incumbent President Danilo Medina was ineligible to stand for re-election, having served two consecutive terms since 2012. The governing Dominican Liberation Party's 16-year rule ended after Modern Revolutionary Party candidate Luis Abinader received a majority of the vote. Rival candidates Gonzalo Castillo and Leonel Fernández also conceded defeat. The Modern Revolutionary Party also won a majority of seats in the Senate and a plurality in the Chamber of Deputies. The election was a partial realignment, with the Modern Revolutionary Party entering a status as a major party in the country, replacing the Dominican Revolutionary Party, who saw poor election results for the second election in a row and who obtained its lowest total vote share and seat count in its history. Abinader would be officially sworn in as President on 16 August.

Electoral system The President of the Dominican Republic is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives 50% + 1 vote, or more, of the total votes, a second-round runoff will be held between the two candidates with the highest votes on the first round.

The 32 members of the Senate are elected from the 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional using first-past-the-post voting.Senado (Senate) IPU

The 190 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected in three groups; 178 are elected by proportional representation from 32 multi-member constituencies based on the 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional, with the number of seats based on the population of each province. A further seven members are elected by proportional representation by Dominican expatriates in 3 overseas constituencies, and five seats are allocated at the national level to parties that received at least 1% of the vote nationally, giving preference to those that did not win any of the 178 constituency seats.Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) IPU

The 20 seats in the Central American Parliament are elected by proportional representation.

Presidential candidates PartyPresidential candidateVice presidential candidateDominican Liberation Party (PLD)Gonzalo CastilloMargarita CedeñoModern Revolutionary Party (PRM)Luis AbinaderRaquel PeñaFuerza del Pueblo (FP) Leonel FernándezSergia Elena MejíaAlianza País (ALPAÍS)Guillermo Moreno GarcíaAgustín González MorelNational Citizen Will Party (PNVC)Juan CohenHugo McFarlane KaluchePartido Demócrata Institucional (PDI)Frank Gene Troncoso Haché

Opinion polls President PollsterDate(s)Castillo(PLD)Abinader(PRM)Fernandez(FP)Moreno(ALPAIS)Centro Económico del Cibao11–13 Oct 201929.7% 43.7%23.6%Centro Económico del Cibao3–5 Nov 201931%42.9%18.4%1.9%Centro Economico del Cibao29 Nov –1 Dec 201925.6% 46.6%24.4%Pool Logistic SRL1–5 Dec 201949%36%3.9%Ideame3–10 Dec 201931.8%47.5%18.3%ABC Marketing10–14 Dec 201922.6% 47.3%20.9%Sigma Dos15–17 Dec 201939.9%35%8%Mark Penn/Stagwell8–10 Jan 202028%43%19%Gallup-RD16–21 Jan 202031.4% 42.2%15.5%1.2%Gallup-Hoy16–21 Jan 202031.7% 44.9%19.3%CIES International31 Jan–2 Feb 202035%37%11%3%Greenberg-Diario Libre21–24 Feb 202024% 52%17%2%CIES International23–25 Feb 202028.8% 43.7%12.6%6.4%CIMERAN<28–29 Feb 202025% 52.5%17.5%3.5%Centro Económico del Cibao28 Feb–5 Mar 202021.0% 55.1%15.6%Sigma Dos2–7 Apr 2020 38.8%36.6%9.6%Horizon Research LLC7 Apr 202023.6%43.9%31.2%Global Trend Research12–15 Apr 202022.9% 43.1%30.4%0.8%ASISA13–19 Apr 202020.4% 44%29.1%JB Consulting Group14–20 Apr 2020 46.6%31.1%3.6%APD Consulting Group17–20 Apr 202024.1% 54.4%11.8%4.6%CIES International17–20 Apr 202033%39%9%4%Centro Economico del Cibao18–19 Apr 202023.7% 53.4%7.3%1%Polimetrics22–25 Apr 2020 40.8%38.3%9.3%1.9%CID Latinoamericana22–23 Apr 2020 40%38%8%New Partners23–26 Apr 202027.4% 52.1%9.9%2.1%Market Reports25–27 Apr 202022.4%42.8%31.2%Mercado & Cuantificaciones27–29 Apr 202030.3%52.3%12.3%1.7%GIDL26 Apr–1 May 202023.2% 41.9%32.4%Datamarket1–3 May 202026% 46%21%2%Horizon Research LCC3–7 May 202022.8%41.3%33.5%Effective Project Communications4–7 May 202029%49%16%3%Polimetric4–9 May 2020 40.4%37.7%8.8%Centro Economico del Cibao11–12 May 202035.2% 53.9%9.5%ABC Marketing13–16 May 202026.5% 55.6%14.5%SISGLO17–20 May 202024.1% 40.6%33.8%Centro Economico del Cibao18–19 May 202034.6% 53.3%9.9%2.2%Elections &  Proyect Corp20–22 May 202021.8% 42.1%33.9%IDEAME18–23 May 202031.5%51.8%14.3%1%José Dorín Cabrera Mercadología21–23 May 202046.9%36.7%9.5%2.2%Mark Penn/Stagwell20–25 May 202037% 39%10%APD Consulting Group21–25 May 202034.4% 51.6%11.6%2.3%CID Latinoamericana23–24 May 202041% 39%10%3%ASISA13–19 Apr 202020.4% 44%29.1%Centro Economico del Cibao25–26 May 202034.0% 53.5%10.3%2.1%CIES International24–27 May 202029% 52%10%6%CYGNAL26 May–2 Jun 202028.2% 54.6%13.9%3.4%Mercado & Cuantificaciones28–30 May 202033% 51.3%11.2%1.1%Datamarket26–30 May 202027%44%21%2%Polimetrics30–31 May 2020 40.7%37.5%8.5%2.6%GIDL1–3 Jun 202021.5% 40.7%33.4%1.7%Mercado & Cuantificaciones2–5 Jun 202034.5% 52.1%8.2%New Partners2–5 Jun 202029.5% 50.7%11.4%Global Trend Research4–6 Jun 202025.7% 40.3%30.8%Gavindian Polsters4–8 Jun 202038% 52%9%1%Ideame5–9 Jun 202034.4% 52.5%10.9%0.9%Centro de Innovación y Políticas Públicas6–9 Jun 202036.3%52.3%7.7%1%CID Latinoamericana9–11 Jun 202043%44%9%1%Consulting and Field International9–12 Jun 202043%40%9%2%Sigma Dos12–14 Jun 2020 43.6%40.4%10.1%1.9%John Zogby Strategies12–14 Jun 202034%54%9%2%Datamarket12–14 Jun 202032% 43%17%2%Greenberg-Diario Libre11–16 Jun 202029%56%12%1%Gallup12–16 Jun 202035.5%53.7%8.6%1.3%Mercado y Cuantificaciones15–17 Jun 202033.5% 55.8%7.0%0.3%PoliRD16–18 Jun 2020 45.1%41.7%9.8%1.8%ABC Marketing15–20 Jun 202032.6% 54.8%10.4%Market Reports18–21 Jun 202026.2%40.8%30.6%Polismetrics20–25 Jun 2020 42.9%39.2%9.6%1.8%Emevenca20–23 Jun 202041%46%8%2%Mark Penn /Stagwell-SIN16–23 Jun 202035%47%11%21–23 Jun 202023.8% 43%29.7%1.2%Centro Economico del Cibao22–23 Jun 202033.4%55.2%9.7%1.7%NewPartners24–25 Jun 202029%54%10%

Party identification and Congress PollsterDate(s)PLDPRMFPPRSCPRDALPAISN/AOthersCIES International19–22 Sep 201931%33%3.3%1.2%4.7%15.6%12.2%Gallup-Hoy16–21 Jan 202037.5%43.3%8.5%0.1%7.6%2.9%CIES International23–25 Feb 202027.5% 43.6%10%3.8%1.3%2.5%11.3%Makert Reports25–27 Apr 202029.1% 34.7%19.1%3.6%2.3%6.8%4.2%Datamarket1–3 May 202027% 37%7%6%4%2%6%11%Effective Project Comunications4–7 May 202032%44%8%6%4%1%2%3%José Dorín Cabrera Mercadología21–23 May 2020 34.2%23.2%8.4%0.5%30.1%3.6%CID Latinoamericana23–24 May 2020 45%38%6%Datamarket26–30 May 202027%37%7%6%4%2%6%11%CYGNAL26 May–2 Jun 202026.7%40.5%9.5%Polimetrics30–31 May 202035.4%29.9%8.9%0.9%25.7%9.2%CID Latinoamerica9–11 Jun 202043%40%7%1%2%1%5%1%Mercados y Cuantificaciones15–17 Jun 202034%47.8%5.3%1.1%1.1%0.4%9.3%1%ABC Marketing15–20 Jun 202029.8%46.7%12.3%3.1%6.0%Market Reports18–21 Jun 202027.3%33.2%22.2%3.6%2.3%6.8%4.6%21–23 Jun 202023.7% 34.7%21.7%4.2%1.3%8.2%NewPartners24–25 Jun 202028%50%6%0%1%1%13%1%

Conduct It was initially reported that representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) would arrive to the Dominican Republic on 13 February 2020 to monitor the elections. The general election to elect the President and members of the Dominican Republic parliament, which was postponed from the scheduled 17 May 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was later held on 5 July 2020.

Local media reported that the elections proceeded smoothly, except for one incident, when a person was shot inside a polling station after an argument erupted between rival party supporters.

Results President Luis Abinader won the presidential election in the first round, receiving over 50% of the vote. During the election count, the ruling Dominican Liberation Party's candidate Gonzalo Castillo conceded defeat, stating that the official count "shows that there is an irreversible trend and that from now on we have a president-elect... Our congratulations to Mr Luis Abinader." Former President Leonel Fernández, who left the ruling party and ran for the presidency as a member of the People's Force party, also conceded defeat. Abinader was sworn in as President of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020.

Senate The Modern Revolutionary Party won an absolute majority in the Senate on their own, seeing their seat total increase by 15, while the ruling Dominican Liberation party lost over 75% of their prior seats.

Chamber of Deputies The Modern Revolutionary Party won a plurality of votes and seats, seeing their seat count more than double. The ruling Dominican Liberation Party lost nearly 30% of their prior seats. No party has a majority on their own in the Chamber, meaning alliances or coalitions will need to be made to guarantee the passage of bills. A total of 96 seats is needed for a majority.

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