The Dominican Party was the de-facto only political party

Single-party state

A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...

 in the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

 during the autocratic rule of Rafael Trujillo, who controlled the country from 1930 to 1961. Its symbol was a palm tree

Arecaceae

Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...

.

History

The Dominican Party was founded on 2 August 1931, a year after Trujillo came to power.

On 16 August 1935, HIN radio station, "The Voice of the Dominican Party" was opened. It was dedicated to serving as media propagator of the activities of the Dominican Party.

It can be observed, viewing the insignia of the Party, that its motto coincided with the initial letters of the name of Trujillo.

Rectitud (Righteousness) = Rafael.

Libertad (Freedom) = Leonidas.

Trabajo (Work) = Trujillo.

(RLT) - Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.

Later he added: Moralidad (Morality) = Molina.

During the Party's rule, Trujillo was the absolute dictator as the Generalissimo

Generalissimo

Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...

 of the Army

Dominican Army

The Army of the Dominican Republic or Ejército Nacional de la República Dominicana, is one of the three branches of the Military of the Dominican Republic, together with the Navy and the Air Force....

, President from 1930 until 1938 and from 1942 until 1952, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1953 until 1961. During other periods, the power was held by family members or politicians allied to him: Jacinto Peynado

Jacinto Peynado

Jacinto Bienvenido Peynado was the President of the Dominican Republic from August 16, 1938 until February 24, 1940 during the Trujillo Era. During his 31-year regime, dictator Rafael Trujillo appointed four individuals to serve as ceremonial Presidents while retaining direct, behind-the-scenes...

 (President from 1938 until 1940), Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha (President from 1940 until 1942) and his brother Héctor Trujillo

Héctor Trujillo

Hector Bienvenido Trujillo Molina , general, and political figure; president of Dominican Republic 1952-1960; brother of Rafael Trujillo.-Biography:...

 (President from 1952 until 1960).

All Dominican citizens had to belong to this party and needed to carry what were called "Los tres golpes", (three strikes):

• Personal Identity Card
• Compulsory Military Service Card
• Dominican Party Membership Card, popularly known as "La Palmita"

Individuals without these certifications could be arrested by the police and incarcerated for a period of perhaps 6 months.

10% of the salaries of public employees was delivered to the Dominican Party.

The party was disbanded shortly after Trujillo's assassination in 1961.

At various times, Trujillo allowed other political parties to coexist, however, this was done only to impress foreign observers that democratization was progressing, and to allow Trujillo to monitor opponents.

Presidential Elections

Election date	Party candidate	Number of votes received	Percentage of votes
1934 Dominican Republic general election, 1934 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1934. Rafael Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, whilst his Dominican Party won every seat in the Congressional elections. There was also an election for a Constitutional Assembly,...	Rafael Trujillo	256,423	100%
1938 Dominican Republic general election, 1938 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1938. Jacinto Peynado of the Dominican Party was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor Rafael Trujillo mainteained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won...	Jacinto Peynado Jacinto Peynado Jacinto Bienvenido Peynado was the President of the Dominican Republic from August 16, 1938 until February 24, 1940 during the Trujillo Era. During his 31-year regime, dictator Rafael Trujillo appointed four individuals to serve as ceremonial Presidents while retaining direct, behind-the-scenes...	319,680	100%
1942 Dominican Republic general election, 1942 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1942. Rafael Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, whilst his Dominican Party won every seat in the Congressional elections. They were the first elections in Dominican history in which...	Rafael Trujillo	581,937	100%
1947 Dominican Republic general election, 1947 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1947. For the first time since 1924 elections there was more than one presidential candidate. However, the incumbent Rafael Trujillo remained in power after receiving 93% of the vote. His Dominican Party won every seat in the...	Rafael Trujillo	781,389	93%
1952 Dominican Republic general election, 1952 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1952. Héctor Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election, and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor and brother Rafael Trujillo maintained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won every seat...	Héctor Trujillo Héctor Trujillo Hector Bienvenido Trujillo Molina , general, and political figure; president of Dominican Republic 1952-1960; brother of Rafael Trujillo.-Biography:...	1,098,816	100%
1957 Dominican Republic general election, 1957 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1957. Héctor Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election, and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor and brother Rafael Trujillo maintained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won every seat...	Héctor Trujillo Héctor Trujillo Hector Bienvenido Trujillo Molina , general, and political figure; president of Dominican Republic 1952-1960; brother of Rafael Trujillo.-Biography:...	1,265,681	100%

Parliamentary Elections

Election date	Party leader	Number of votes received	Percentage of votes	Number of deputies	Number of senators
1934 Dominican Republic general election, 1934 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1934. Rafael Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, whilst his Dominican Party won every seat in the Congressional elections. There was also an election for a Constitutional Assembly,...	Rafael Trujillo	256,423	100%	31	12
1938 Dominican Republic general election, 1938 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1938. Jacinto Peynado of the Dominican Party was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor Rafael Trujillo mainteained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won...	Rafael Trujillo	319,680	100%	Unknown	13
1942 Dominican Republic general election, 1942 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1942. Rafael Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election and was elected unopposed, whilst his Dominican Party won every seat in the Congressional elections. They were the first elections in Dominican history in which...	Rafael Trujillo	581,937	100%	35	16
1947 Dominican Republic general election, 1947 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1947. For the first time since 1924 elections there was more than one presidential candidate. However, the incumbent Rafael Trujillo remained in power after receiving 93% of the vote. His Dominican Party won every seat in the...	Rafael Trujillo	781,389	93%	45	19
1952 Dominican Republic general election, 1952 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1952. Héctor Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election, and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor and brother Rafael Trujillo maintained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won every seat...	Rafael Trujillo	1,098,816	100%	50	22
1957 Dominican Republic general election, 1957 General elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1957. Héctor Trujillo was the only candidate in the presidential election, and was elected unopposed, although his predecessor and brother Rafael Trujillo maintained absolute control of the country. The Dominican Party won every seat...	Rafael Trujillo	1,265,681	100%	58	23