Dominican Republic: Reprisals by Reformist Party against members of the Revolutionary Party who participated in demonstrations against the Reformist Party during the presidential campaign of 1986

The sources currently available to the IRBDC report cases of political violence taking place during and immediately after the presidential campaign and election of May 1986, although not afterwards. However, the available sources do not report reprisals taking place after demonstrations, but encounters which resulted in shoot-outs. Some sources refer to violent incidents without giving much details on the particular incidents. One example is the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1986 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, February 1987), p. 473, which states "there were incidents of political violence during the election campaign and in the postelection period." In the same page, the report states that approximately 13 politically-related deaths occurred around election time, six of them "as a result of violent clashes between supporters of the two principal political parties, the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) and the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC)". The report indicates that the reported deaths were the result of unplanned confrontations which occurred mostly at competing events. One such case is reported by two other sources. A Refugee Status Advisory Committee paper titled "A Chronology of Developments in the Dominican Republic since 1965" (RSAC, May 1986), page 17, states that two people were killed in a shoot-out between supporters in the Boca Chica resort on 6 May 1986, raising the pre-electoral death toll to five. The Latin American Weekly Report of 23 May 1986, however, reports that the incident took place on 4 May 1986, and states that the PRD presidential candidate blamed campaign workers of the PRSC for the two deaths, which occurred after a PRD caravan encountered a PRSC caravan in Boca Chica.

In the country's capital, supporters of the then-ruling PRD were reportedly dispersed and shot at by police while protesting the announced victory of the PRSC candidate, resulting in several injured and some dead (four dead according to Caribbean Contact, September 1986, five dead according to The New York Times and Le Devoir, both of 25 May 1986). However, none of these reports indicate participation of PRSC supporters or members in the incident.

A previous violent incident in the early campaign days and reported in "A Chronology of Developments...", page 16, took place in November 1985 when two persons were killed and several were injured in factional fights during a PRD convention.

Aside from this information and the attached reports, information on political violence involving PRD and PRSC members during the electoral campaign, elections of 1986 and afterwards could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.

Please find attached the following documents related to the 1986 Dominican Republic elections:

-From the Caribbean Report (London, Latin America Regional Reports): "Parties prepare for May polls", 1 November 1985; "Attempts to heal PRD split", 8 December 1985; "May polls become three-man race", 21 February 1986; "Pre-emptive cries of election fraud", 8 May 1986; "Balaguer crusades against fraud", 24 july 1986;

-From The Globe and Mail, 23 May 1986: "Dominican candidates pledge joint government" and Counting resumed in presidential vote".