1947 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election

Last updated

Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 3 August 1947.

Contents

On the night of 25–26 May 1947 Somoza woke the President Argüello in his bed and told him that he was no longer president of Nicaragua. Somoza forced the National Congress of Nicaragua to convene at 3 am and declare the now ex-president mentally incompetent. At the insistence of the diplomatic corps Argüello was not imprisoned but exiled to Mexico where he died in December that year. Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa was Somoza’s next choice for president, but even the new US administration led by Harry Truman found it impossible to recognize such a blatant corruption of the political process. [1]

President Sacasa announced on 10 June that a Constituent Assembly would convene on 29 August, following the election of delegates on 3 August. The edict also granted juridical status to the Conservative party, and unnamed antidemocratic parties were outlawed. The assembly was charged with writing a new Constitution, electing a new President and Congress, and reorganizing the judiciary. At the same time the government was attempting to establish its legal basis, it suppressed civil liberties. [2]

A decree of 5 July 1947, signed by Provisional President Lacayo, sent the main leaders of the Socialist Party off to internal exile on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. They were not accused of doing anything illegal except belonging to a political group that espoused a foreign ideology prohibited by the Constitution. [3]

Amid widespread apathy, elections for the Constituent Assembly were held, as scheduled on 3 August. Only Somoza's Nationalist Liberal Party ticket offered candidates. All other groups abstained. Reports from throughout the country indicated that voting was restricted to government workers and ‘poorly clad peons. [2] The results appear to have been so meager that the official tallies were not even published in ‘La Gaceta/Diario Oficial’”. [4]

Results

PartySeats
Nationalist Liberal Party 38
Conservative Nationalist Party  8
Traditional Conservative Party 3
Total49
Source: Political Handbook of the World [5]

Related Research Articles

Nicaragua is a nation in Central America. It is located about midway between Mexico and Colombia, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. Nicaragua ranges from the Caribbean Sea on the nation's east coast, and the Pacific Ocean bordering the west. Nicaragua also possesses a series of islands and cays located in the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somoza family</span> Ruling family of Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979

The Somoza family is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Anastasio Somoza García was the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Luis Somoza Debayle, who held the presidency from 1957 to 1963. The youngest Somoza son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, held two presidential terms: 1967-1972 and 1974-1979. Although the Somozas did not hold the presidency for the full forty-three years, they continued to rule through puppet presidents and their control of the National Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasio Somoza García</span> Former President of Nicaragua (1896–1956)

Anastasio Somoza García was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 until his assassination on 29 September 1956, ruling for the rest of the time as an unelected military strongman. He was the patriarch of the Somoza family, which ruled Nicaragua as a family dictatorship for 42 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto Sacasa</span> Nicaraguan politician and president (1840–1896)

Roberto Sacasa Sarria was the President of Nicaragua from 5 August 1889 to 1 January 1891 and again from 1 March 1891 to 11 July 1893.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Bautista Sacasa</span>

Juan Bautista Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa and Ángela Sacasa Cuadra, the former's cousin twice removed. He was a relative of Benjamín Sacasa.

Leonardo Argüello Barreto was a Nicaraguan politician who, after several attempts, became the President of Nicaragua in 1947. He served from 1 May to 27 May 1947. His older brother was the noted poet Santiago Arguello Barreto.

Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 27 May to 15 August 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on September 1, 1974 to elect a president and National Congress of Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on February 5, 1967 to elect a president and National Congress.

General elections were held in Nicaragua to elect a president and National Congress of Nicaragua on 21 May 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on 2 February 1947 to elect a president and National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Nicaraguan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Nicaragua on 15 August 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1936 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on 8 December 1936 to elect a President, half of the Deputies and one-third of the Senators of the National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1938 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election</span>

Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 1938.

The elections held on 6 November 1938 were even more of a sham than those that named Anastasio Somoza García president in 1936. The Conservatives decided to abstain again, while the ballot boxes and ballots were distributed throughout the country by the quartermaster general of the Guardia Nacional. The final results were made available within twenty-four hours. In 1938 the Genuino Conservatives decided to field candidates for the Constituent Assembly although the Conservative party’s leadership vehemently opposed the plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 1932 to elect a President, half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the seats in the Senate of the National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1936 Nicaraguan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Nicaragua on 9 June 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1926 Nicaraguan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Nicaragua on 11 November 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924 Nicaraguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Nicaragua on 5 October 1924 to elect a president, half of the deputies and one-third of the senators of the National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalist Liberal Party</span> Political party in Nicaragua

The Nationalist Liberal Party was a political party in Nicaragua.

References

  1. Smith, Hazel. Nicaragua: self-determination and survival. London : Pluto Press. 1993. Pp. 109.
  2. 1 2 Leonard, Thomas M. The United States and Central America, 1944–1949. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 1984. Pp. 145.
  3. Walter, Knut. The regime of Anastasio Somoza, 1936–1956. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina. 1993. Pp. 165.
  4. Walter, Knut. The regime of Anastasio Somoza, 1936–1956. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina. 1993. Pp. 166.
  5. Political Handbook of the World 1948. New York, 1949. p204

Bibliography