2028: 20 fewer deputies

Starting with the 2028 elections, the Chamber of Deputies will go from 190 to 170 members, following the constitutional reform of October 2024. The elimination of twenty territorial seats raises a key question: do fewer deputies mean a higher quality democracy?

Reduction can be presented as a way to streamline the State and lower costs. However, efficiency does not depend solely on the number of legislators, but on their ability to defend citizens’ interests, oversee the Executive Branch, and pass relevant laws.

The new Chamber will have 158 territorial deputies, five national deputies by accumulation of votes, and seven representatives of the Dominican community abroad. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) must distribute the territorial seats in accordance with the Constitution and the provisions applicable to the 2028 electoral process.

Redistribution will not be a merely mathematical operation. Each seat is linked to a community, to its needs, and to its participation in national decisions. Therefore, the measures adopted by the JCE must be based on objective, transparent, and verifiable criteria.

The Constitution guarantees that no province has fewer than two deputies and establishes that the 158 territorial seats be distributed proportionally. For 2028, the electoral roll from the May 2024 congressional elections will be used as a reference. The JCE must apply these criteria with technical rigor, avoiding decisions that could raise doubts about the impartiality of the process.

One of the main risks is the weakening of political plurality. By reducing the available seats in certain constituencies, minority parties and emerging forces could face greater difficulties in reaching positions in Congress. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully examine the territorial delimitation, the allocation method, and their effects on electoral proportionality.

The debate should not focus solely on which provinces will lose deputies, but on the model of Congress we want. A smaller legislative body does not guarantee greater efficiency, just as a larger one does not ensure a better quality of democracy. The determining factor is that its members exercise their functions with independence, responsibility, and commitment to the public interest.

In this scenario, the JCE faces the challenge of conducting the process with transparency and timely communication. Explaining the methodology, publishing the projections, and facilitating access to information will allow citizens and political organizations to understand the decisions made and evaluate them on objective grounds.

The 2028 elections will test the institutions’ ability to manage this change without undermining political plurality or citizen trust. The reduction of twenty parliamentary seats may contribute to reorganizing the State, but its results must be evaluated beyond economic savings.

The quality of a democracy is not measured by the number of legislators, but by the capacity of its institutions to guarantee political participation, protect pluralism, and respond effectively to the demands of society. That must be the fundamental criterion when redrawing the Dominican electoral map.