general elections were held in the dominican republic on 16 may 1978. following diplomatic pressure from american president jimmy carter, the elections were free and competitive and contested by all political parties, unlike the previous elections in the 1970s. antonio guzmán fernández won the presidential election, whilst his dominican revolutionary party (which had not contested the 1970 and 1974 elections) won the congressional elections. voter turnout was 75.8%.