{ "story_id": "bf7cecbd2fcdec530a8ef5c1a0bf1c71", "desk": "drm3", "revision": 1, "published_at": "2026-09-04T00:52:55.000Z", "content_hash": "bcb3ad48481a66a7d1b13b5d36b0367f9b18e9c2e3d1a3a8cc1e710c56ffb7e5", "hash_basis": "sha256 over `headline\\ndek\\nprose`, plus `\\n` + the canonical citations JSON when any source is placed, plus `\\n#blog` for blogs", "basis": { "headline": "Dominican Senator Félix Bautista Files Bill to Abolish D'Hondt Election Method", "dek": "Dominican Senator Félix Bautista filed a bill to replace the D'Hondt method with simple majority for local and legislative elections.", "prose": "Félix Bautista, senator from the Dominican Republic's San Juan province, filed a bill in the Dominican Senate to eliminate the D'Hondt method for electing deputies, municipal council members (regidores), and municipal district board members (vocales). [^1]\n\nThe D'Hondt method, developed in the 19th century by Belgian jurist Victor D'Hondt, is a proportional representation system used to distribute legislative seats in many countries in Latin America and Europe. [^2]\n\nThe bill also proposes repealing Dominican Law 157-13, which established the preferential voting system and the D'Hondt method, and modifying provisions of the Organic Law of the Electoral Regime 20-23. [^3]\n\nThe bill, as presented by Félix Bautista, argues that the D'Hondt method does not guarantee a direct correspondence between the votes each candidate receives individually and the assignment of elective seats. [^4]\n\nThe proposed bill establishes that candidates would be chosen under the principle of simple majority, so that those receiving the greatest number of valid votes in their respective constituencies are elected. [^5]\n\nSenator Félix Bautista argued that the D'Hondt system has favored larger political parties in collegiate bodies, limiting the representation of emerging and minority forces and weakening democratic pluralism. [^6]\n\nThe proposal would replace the proportional representation system, which has been in use in the Dominican Republic since the 1997 electoral reform, with an alternative model intended to achieve a fairer distribution of elected positions. [^7]\n\nCritics argue that the system biases results toward major parties, creating an 'invisible barrier' that prevents minority and emerging parties from gaining representation in the Congress. [^8]\n\nThe system operates by dividing the valid votes of each party by consecutive integers (1, 2, 3, 4...) until the total number of available seats is reached, then assigning seats to the highest resulting quotients. [^9]\n\nThe senator said the initiative aims to open a broader discussion on modernizing the electoral system, strengthening proportional representation, and ensuring greater equity in the distribution of seats. [^10]\n\nProponents of the D'Hondt method praise it for its predictability in translating votes into seats. 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