Chamber:
	Senado
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	16 May 1998
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	At the previous general elections of May 1994, the long-standing Head of State, Mr. Joaquin Balaguer Ricardo (Social Christian Reformist Party - PRSC), was very narrowly re-elected in the simultaneous presidential polling. Controversy surrounding these elections led to a political crisis and, in August 1994, all-party talks and the signing of the Pact for Democracy. Under the terms of this accord, a fresh presidential poll would be held in November 1995 and a series of constitutional reforms providing, inter alia, that no Head of State could serve consecutive terms would be adopted. The new poll ultimately took place in May 1996 and was won by Mr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna (Dominican Liberation Party - PLD). With the support of PRSC voters, he staged a comeback in the second round to defeat Mr. José Fernandez Pena Gomez (Dominican Revolutionary Party - PRD), who had also been edged out in the 1994 contest. The 1998 congressional elections were combined with voting for 115 municipalities. Based on census results, the number of Chamber of Deputies seats was raised from 120 to 149 prior to polling. Economic issues were at the forefront of the campaign debate, with commentary on the free-market reform program of President Fernandez. One week before the elections, Mr. Pena Gomez, a populist leader who had championed the cause of the poor, died. On 16 May, the relatively low voter turnout was partially attributed to the fact that the legislative elections were, for the first time, held separately from the presidential ones. Final results gave a resounding victory to the main opposition, centre-left PRD, which retained its leading position in the Chamber (83 seats) and overtook the centre-right PRSC with a total of 24 Senators. The left-wing PLD, for its part, raised its Chamber total from 13 to 49.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (16 May 1998): Elections results
Number of registered electors	4,100,000 (approx.)
Voters	2,700,000 (approx.)

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD)	83
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD)	10
Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC)	7

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD)	24	+12
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD)	4	+3
Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC)	7	-12

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	28
Women:	2