Dominican Republic Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026

GUIDES · DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Dominican Republic politics in 2026 is dominated by one party and one man who cannot run again. The Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) holds the presidency and both chambers of Congress under President Luis Abinader.

For US readers, power in Santo Domingo shapes deportations to Haiti, anti-drug cooperation with Washington and the climate for investors and visitors.

This guide maps every centre of power as of October 2026. It covers the presidency, the cabinet, Congress, the courts, the security forces and the opposition.

Every office-holder named here appears in official or national press sources from August to October 2026. For wider context, see our Dominican Republic coverage.

How the Dominican Republic Is Governed

The Dominican Republic is a presidential republic. The president is head of state and head of government, elected directly for four years.

The president appoints the cabinet without a vote in Congress.

Congress has two chambers. The Senate has 32 members, one for each of the 31 provinces and one for the National District.

The Chamber of Deputies has 190 members.

The constitution was last reformed in 2024. The National Assembly, both chambers sitting together, proclaimed the new text on Sunday 27 October 2024.

It keeps the two-term limit and bars presidents from changing the election rules for their own benefit.

The reform also gives the National Council of the Magistracy the power to choose the attorney general. It shrinks the Chamber of Deputies.

From 2032, municipal, congressional and presidential elections will be held together.

Below the national level, power is centralised. The president appoints a governor for each province, who represents the executive rather than voters.

Elected mayors run the municipalities, and the mayor of the National District, the heart of Santo Domingo, has a national profile.

The President and His Inner Circle

Luis Abinader was born on 12 July 1967 and studied economics at INTEC in Santo Domingo, his official biography says. He took postgraduate courses in the United States.

Before winning office he ran Grupo ABICOR, a family company with tourism projects.

He won the presidency in 2020 with 52.52 percent of the vote. On Sunday 19 May 2024 he was re-elected in the first round with 2,507,297 votes, or 57.44 percent.

Those are the final figures of the Junta Central Electoral (JCE), the electoral board.

At the proclamation of the new constitution, Abinader promised to step down on 16 August 2028 and never return. The reformed text writes that in: the president elected in 2024 cannot run again.

Vice President Raquel Peña has served alongside him since 2020. She chaired the final day of the Supreme Court hearings on 9 October 2026.

She is also one of the declared aspirants to succeed him. José Ignacio Paliza, minister of the Presidency, runs the government’s political machinery and its flagship works.

The Cabinet Ministers Who Matter

The presidency’s official list of ministers, checked in October 2026, reflects a reshuffle in August 2026. These are the posts a foreign investor, diplomat or visitor is most likely to meet.

• José Ignacio Paliza, minister of the Presidency: the president’s chief political operator and coordinator of government.
• Magín Díaz, minister of Finance and Economy: writes the budget and manages public debt in a merged ministry.
• Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, minister of Foreign Affairs: appointed by decree on Sunday 16 August 2026, replacing Roberto Álvarez.
• Faride Raful, minister of Interior and Police: the civilian in charge of public security and police reform.
• Lt Gen Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, minister of Defence: oversees the army, navy and air force.
• Antoliano Peralta Romero, minister of Justice, and Luis Miguel De Camps, minister of Education.
• David Collado, minister of Tourism, and Joel Santos, minister of Energy and Mines: two portfolios closely watched by US investors.

Collado matters beyond tourism. National press coverage treats him as a leading PRM contender for 2028.

Santos was due in Washington in late September 2026 to present the country’s rare earths and a planned power link with Puerto Rico. The economic team, including the central bank governor, is mapped in our guide to who runs the Dominican economy.

Congress and the Ruling Party’s Majority

The PRM controls Congress by a wide margin. In May 2024 the PRM and its allies won 29 of the 32 Senate seats.

People’s Force and its allies took the other three. That count comes from JCE resolutions reported by Listín Diario.

In the Chamber of Deputies the PRM won more than 140 of the 190 seats, People’s Force 27 and the PLD 12. Smaller parties won the remaining seats.

They include the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC) of former president Joaquín Balaguer and the once-dominant Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD).

Seven deputies represent Dominicans living abroad, including in the United States. All seven went to the PRM in 2024.

Ricardo de los Santos, a PRM senator, presides over the Senate. Alfredo Pacheco, a PRM deputy, presides over the Chamber of Deputies.

Both were sworn in again on Sunday 16 August 2026, so the government can pass most laws without opposition votes.

The Opposition: People’s Force and the PLD

People’s Force (Fuerza del Pueblo, FP) is the largest opposition party and presents itself as the alternative to the PRM. Its leader, Leonel Fernández, was president from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012.

He founded the FP after breaking with the PLD.

Fernández finished second in 2024 with 1,259,427 votes, or 28.85 percent. In September 2026 he said the FP had not chosen its 2028 candidate, because the legal window is not open.

He said neither he nor his son Omar Fernández, the FP senator for the National District, could be proclaimed yet.

The Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) held the presidency from 2004 to 2020, under Fernández and then Danilo Medina, who still leads it. Its 2024 candidate, Abel Martínez, came third with 10.39 percent.

The PLD planned a consultation on its presidential hopefuls for Sunday 18 October 2026, then cancelled it on Wednesday 30 September. It said it needed 2,200 voting machines and the electoral board could guarantee only 600, El Nacional reported.

It will now choose its candidate from July 2027.

Courts, Prosecutors and the Electoral Referee

The judiciary is in transition. Luis Henry Molina has led the Supreme Court of Justice since 2019, and six of its seats are open.

The National Council of the Magistracy held hearings for 88 shortlisted candidates on 5, 6, 8 and 9 October 2026.

Those hearings will also decide Molina’s successor as court president. The council has eight members, according to the presidency.

They include the president of the republic, both chamber heads and the presidents of the two top courts.

The other three are Supreme Court judge Nancy Salcedo Fernández, opposition senator Omar Fernández and opposition deputy Tobías Crespo. The Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional disputes, is presided over by Napoleón Estévez Lavandier.

Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso leads the Public Ministry, the prosecution service. Her office is pursuing the fraud case at Senasa, the state health insurer.

Elections are run by the JCE, presided over by Román Jáquez.

Military, Police and the Haiti Border

The armed forces answer to the president through the Ministry of Defence. In October 2026 Defence Minister Fernández Onofre reviewed defence plans with the army, navy and air force commanders, the presidency said.

The National Police sits under the Interior and Police Ministry. In August 2026 Abinader named Maj Gen Ernesto Rafael Rodríguez García as its director general.

The move was part of a wider reshuffle of military and police commands.

Police reform and deaths in police operations are recurring issues in Congress and the national press. Raful said in September 2026 that a falling homicide rate does not mean people should feel safer.

Migration control is a central plank of government policy. The Directorate General of Migration reported 265,412 deportations of undocumented foreigners from January to August 2026.

All were handed to Haitian authorities at four border crossings.

In August 2026 alone, security forces detained 36,005 Haitian nationals in operations across all 32 provinces, the directorate said. The campaign has drawn international criticism, which the government rejects.

The Race to Succeed Abinader in 2028

Because Abinader cannot run, the real contest for power is inside his own party. The PRM plans closed primaries in 2027, under a route agreed in Jarabacoa in September 2025.

Four names stand out in national press coverage as of October 2026.

• David Collado, minister of Tourism, whose support committee presented a “David Collado 2028” strategy to about 450 leaders in Santiago in October 2026.
• Carolina Mejía, mayor of the National District and daughter of former president Hipólito Mejía, who campaigns for her.
• Raquel Peña, the vice president, whose team in Santiago is led by senator Daniel Rivera.
• Guido Gómez Mazara, a PRM leader who wants a direct, secret vote of party members.

On the opposition side, Leonel Fernández remains the dominant figure in the FP. The PLD has several hopefuls but no selection before July 2027.

The PRM primary is likely to decide whether the ruling party stays united for the May 2028 vote.

What It Means for US Readers

For US investors, Dominican Republic politics offers a high degree of continuity. The ruling party controls both chambers, and the term limit is written into the constitution.

Policy risk comes less from the government than from the succession fight within the PRM.

For Washington, the country is a close security partner. In November 2025 the government authorised US forces to use a Dominican air base and an airport for counter-narcotics operations.

Leah Campos represents the United States in Santo Domingo as ambassador.

For travellers and expats, the State Department’s Level 2 rating, “exercise increased caution” because of crime, has stood since 12 June 2025. Migration checks take place across the country, so foreign residents should carry a passport or residence card.

What Is Not Known

Who will lead the Supreme Court is not known. The National Council of the Magistracy had not announced Molina’s successor or the six new judges by mid-October 2026.

The 2028 candidates are not known. None of the three main parties has nominated anyone, and the formal selection only begins in 2027.

Whether the PRM holds together after a contested primary is also open.

The full effect of the 2024 reform is untested. When the council will first use its new power to choose an attorney general is not known.

The first unified general election is not due until 2032.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the president of the Dominican Republic in 2026?

Luis Abinader of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM). He took office in 2020, was re-elected on 19 May 2024 with 57.44 percent, and his final term ends on 16 August 2028.

Can Luis Abinader run again in 2028?

No. The constitution proclaimed on 27 October 2024 keeps the two-term limit and states that the president elected in 2024 cannot run again.

Which party controls the Dominican Congress?

The PRM. In 2024 it and its allies won 29 of 32 Senate seats, and the PRM won more than 140 of the 190 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Who leads the Dominican opposition?

Former president Leonel Fernández leads People’s Force, which came second in 2024 with 28.85 percent. Danilo Medina leads the Dominican Liberation Party, which came third with 10.39 percent.

When is the next Dominican presidential election?

In May 2028. Parties choose their candidates from 2027: the PRM in closed primaries and the PLD from July 2027.

Who runs security in the Dominican Republic?

Interior and Police Minister Faride Raful, Defence Minister Lt Gen Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre and police director Maj Gen Ernesto Rafael Rodríguez García, appointed in August 2026.

Sources: Presidency of the Dominican Republic, ministers; Presidency, Luis Abinader biography; Presidency, National Council of the Magistracy hearings; Presidency, Defence Ministry; Presidency, Interior and Police; Presidency, Tourism; Presidency, Energy and Mines; Presidency, Attorney General; Listín Diario, JCE 2024 results; Listín Diario, police director; Acento, Congress leadership; Acento, foreign minister; Z Digital, 2024 constitution; Prensa Latina, 2024 constitution; Diario Libre, PRM aspirants; Diario Libre, PRM primaries; El Nacional, PLD consultation; AlMomento, People’s Force; El Día, JCE; Prensa Latina, Directorate General of Migration figures; US State Department travel advisory. All accessed 13 October 2026.