Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: Historical Setting
prevented large numbers of individuals from voting. In what
turned out to be extremely close elections, the disenfranchised
appeared disproportionately to be PRD voters, a situation that
potentially affected the outcome. The prolonged post-election
crisis resulted from the apparent fraud in the 1994 elections.
Balaguer had ostensibly defeated Peha Gomez by an even narrower
margin than that over Bosch in the 1990 elections. This
situation caused strong reactions by numerous groups inside
and outside the country: the United States government, the
OAS, international observer missions, business groups, some
elements of the Roman Catholic Church, and the PRD, among
others. The severe criticism led to the signing of an agreement,
known as the Pact for Democracy, reached among the three
major parties on August 10, 1994. The agreement reduced Balaguer's
presidential term to two years, after which new presidential
elections would be held. The agreement also called for
the appointment of a new Electoral Board as well as numerous
constitutional reforms. The reforms included banning consecutive
presidential reelection, separating presidential and congressional-municipal
elections by two years, holding a run-off
election if no presidential candidate won a majority of the
votes, reforming the judicial system, and allowing dual citizenship.
A New Beginning?
The 1994 agreement and constitutional reforms, reinforced
by increased vigilance by elements of Dominican civil society
and by international actors, led to successful, free elections in
1996. None of the three main contenders in 1996 received the
absolute majority necessary to win in the first round. Peria
Gomez of the PRD reached the highest percentage with 45.9
percent, followed by Leonel Fernandez of the PLD with 38.9
percent (Bosch had finally stepped down as party leader
because of age and health), and Jacinto Peynado of the PRSC
with 15 percent. Balaguer, who had not endorsed his party's
first-round candidate, in the second round joined with the
PRSC to officially endorse the candidacy of Leonel Fernandez
of the PLD in a "Patriotic Pact." The pact's spokesmen, who
called for the preservation of national sovereignty and Dominicanness,
were, in effect, articulating racial and anti-Haitian
themes in their campaign against Pena Gomez, who was of Haitian
ancestry. Aided by the PRSC endorsement, Leonel Fernandez
Reyna was able to defeat Pena Gomez in the second round.
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