At stake in this election:

• 32 seats in the Senate (Senado)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna
• Head of Government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna
• Assembly: Dominican Republic has a bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 32 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) with 178 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado) 32 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) 178 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* The term of office will be six years from 2010-2016. After that, it will return to four years.

** Seats are apportioned to 30 multi-member districts (29 provinces and the federal district) in proportion to population. No district magnitude may be less than 2. The term of office will be six years from 2010-2016. After that, it will return to four years.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Dominican Liberation Party / Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD)*
  • Leader: Leonel Antonio FERNANDEZ Reyna
• Party: Social Christian Reformist Party / Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC)**
  • Leader: N/A
• Party: Dominican Revolutionary Party / Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD)
  • Leader: Miguel Vargas MALDONADO

* The Dominican Liberation Party has a formal alliance with the Social Christian Reformist Party.
** The Dominican Liberation Party has a formal alliance with the Social Christian Reformist Party

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 9,897,983 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 6,116,397 (2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,958,889 (2010)

·         Is Dominican Republic a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Dominican Republic ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 September 1982)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 38 (Chamber of Deputies); 3 (Senate) (following the 2010 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 101 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Dominican Republic a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Dominican Republic ratified CRPD: Yes (18 August 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,484,697 (est.)