Dominican Republic: Political Parties & Elections

The Dominican Republic's modern party system emerged after the 1961 assassination of longtime dictator Rafael Trujillo and consolidated through the internationally observed 1966 election. Since then, three parties have dominated the political landscape: the Dominican Revolutionary Party, the Dominican Liberation Party, and the Social Christian Reformist Party.

The Dominican Revolutionary Party traces its roots to Juan Bosch, who won the 1962 presidential election before being overthrown the following year. After Bosch broke away to found the Dominican Liberation Party in 1973, the PRD continued as a major force, returning to power with Antonio Guzmán in 1978 and Salvador Jorge Blanco in 1982. The PLD, meanwhile, became a dominant party of its own, with Leonel Fernández and Danilo Medina each serving multiple presidential terms between 1996 and 2020.

The PRD fractured in the early 2010s, and in 2014 a breakaway faction led by former president Hipólito Mejía and rising leader Luis Abinader formed the Modern Revolutionary Party. That new party won the presidency in 2020 when Abinader defeated the PLD's candidate, ending the PLD's long run in power, and he secured reelection in 2024. The three-party rivalry among the PRM, PLD, and PRD continues to shape Dominican elections today.