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Dominican Republic Local Government
The Dominican system of local government, like the
Dominican
legal system, was based on the French system of top-down
rule and
strong central authority. The country was divided into
twentynine provinces, plus the National District (Santo
Domingo). The
provinces, in turn, were subdivided into a total of
seventy-seven
municipalities (or counties). Each province was
administered by a
civil governor appointed by the president. A governor had
to be a
Dominican citizen, at least twenty-five years old, and in
full
possession of his civil and political rights. The powers
and
duties of governors are set by law. The Constitution
establishes
the structure of local government; its specific functions
are
enumerated in the municipal code.
The municipalities and the National District were
governed by
mayors and municipal councils, both popularly elected to
fouryear terms. The size of the councils depended on the size
of the
municipality, but each was required to have at least five
members. The qualifications of local officials as well as
the
powers and duties of mayors and councils were set by law.
Naturalized citizens could hold municipal office, provided
they
had lived in the community at least ten years.
Neither provinces nor municipalities had any
independent
power to levy taxes, so few services could be initiated at
the
local level. There were no local police departments, only
a
single national force. Policy and programs with regard to
education, social services, roads, electricity, and public
works
were similarly administered at the national level, rather
than at
the provincial or the municipal level. Local government
was
therefore weak and ineffective, not only because it lacked
taxing
authority, but also because, in the Dominican system, the
central
government set virtually all policy.
Starting in the early 1960s, various efforts were made
to
strengthen Dominican local government. A new municipal
league
came into existence in 1962, and efforts were made to
develop
community spirit, local initiative, and self-help
projects. These
projects were not wholly successful, in large part because
of the
traditional arrangement under which virtually all power
flowed
downward from the central government. In the late 1980s,
Santo
Domingo remained the focus of the country's affairs, the
source
of power and largesse.
Data as of December 1989
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