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The Commissioner in the Dominican Republic (Welles) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 19—8:15 a.m.]
17. The national election took place March 15th without disturbance of any kind. Every precaution had been taken by the [Page 624] national police to prevent disorder but not a single arrest had to be made in the entire Republic for breach of peace. In all the provinces I visited the voting took place with entire order and apparent cordiality between the members of the opposing parties. As an indication of this the candidate for the Presidency of the Coalition Party and the candidate for the Vice Presidency of the Alliance Party went together to vote in the same precinct board.
The returns received from the municipal electoral boards indicate that General Vasquez and the candidates of the Alliance Party have swept the country. It appears that the Alliance Party will have 11 out of 12 members of the Senate and 25 out of 31 members of the House of Deputies. That party has likewise apparently elected 90 percent of the municipal governments.
While the Coalition Party will undoubtedly protest against the electoral returns in certain communes, it is my belief that these protests will be resolved shortly by the Central Electoral Board and that the final results of the elections will be officially announced by that body before March 25th.