When counting showed an unmistakable trend toward Guzmán, the Army attempted to stage a coup in favor of incumbentJoaquín Balaguer.However, when the army tried to interrupt the vote count, it was forced to back down amid protests at home and strong pressure from abroad. The final count showed Balaguer had suffered the first defeat of his career, losing by almost 10 points.[2][4][5]Although Guzmán was allowed to assume the presidency, the Central Elections Authority redistributed the uncast votes equally between the PRD and theReformist Party,diminishing the PRD's majority in Congress.[2]
Guzmán's swearing-in on 16 August marked the first time in the country's history that a sitting government hadpeacefully surrendered powerto an elected member of the opposition.