2017 Santa Dominican general election

The 2017 Santa Dominican general election took place on 17 October 2017. Prime Minister Bernadette Keller, who was appointed after the resignation of Andrew Walker earlier that year, was voted out as the Social Democrats were defeated by Mari Sato and the Liberal Democratic Party. The Social Democrats lost 45 seats in the House of Commons, the worst loss for the party since 1973. The Social Democrats became the third-largest party in parliament, after the LibDems and the Conservatives. Mari Satō became the third female prime minister, and the first prime minister of Asian and Japanese descent, a monumental achievement for a community that is approximately one-third of the Santa Dominican population.

2017 also saw the introduction of the Maddison Independence Party (MIP) to the House of Commons. The MIP (later branded the AFSD) is a populist, right-wing party which supports anti-immigration policies.