1972 Salvadoran presidential election

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1972 Salvadoran presidential election
Flag of El Salvador.svg
←  1967 20 February 1972 1977  →
Registered1,119,699
Turnout72.02%
  3x4.svg Jose Napoleon Duarte.png
Nominee Arturo Armando Molina José Napoleón Duarte
Party PCN UNO
Running mate Enrique Mayorga Rivas Guillermo Manuel Ungo
Electoral vote31–
Popular vote334,600324,756
Percentage43.42%42.14%
President before election

Fidel Sánchez Hernández
PCN

Elected President

Arturo Armando Molina
PCN

Presidential elections were held in El Salvador on 20 February 1972. [1] The result was a victory for Arturo Armando Molina of the Party of National Conciliation (PCN), who received 43% of the vote. However, the election was characterised by massive fraud. [2] The PCN had faced a strong challenge from left- and right-wing opposition, and as a result had tried to rig the election by holding the presidential elections two weeks before the legislative election (which took place on 12 March) to ensure that if Molina failed to pass the 50% mark, the Legislative Assembly would still be under PCN control to approve him as president. [3] Despite their attempts to stuff ballot boxes, it looked for a while as though José Napoleón Duarte of the opposition National Opposing Union (UNO, a coalition of the Christian Democratic Party National Revolutionary Movement and Nationalist Democratic Union) had been victorious after the Central Election Board in San Salvador issued a statement that Duarte had won by around 6,000 votes. However, this was followed by a three-day news blackout, after which a revised set of figures was announced giving a narrow victory to Molina, [4] meaning that the Legislative Assembly (with a PCN majority) would choose the president. The opposition walked out of the vote, resulting in Molina being elected by 31 votes to zero. [5]

Contents

Results

CandidatePartyPopular voteParliamentary vote
Votes%Votes%
Arturo Armando Molina National Conciliation Party 334,60043.4231100.00
José Napoleón Duarte National Opposing Union 324,75642.14
José Antonio Rodríguez Porth Salvadoran Popular Party 94,36712.25
José Alberto Medrano United Independent Democratic Front 16,8712.19
Total770,594100.0031100.00
Valid votes770,59495.56
Invalid/blank votes35,7634.44
Total votes806,357100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,119,69972.0252–
Source: Nohlen, UC San Diego

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References

  1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p276 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ↑ Nohlen, p288
  3. ↑ Williams, Philip J. and Knut Walter (1997) Militarization and demilitarization in El Salvador's transition to democracy Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 80-81
  4. ↑ Herman, Edward S. and Frank Brodhead (1984) Demonstration elections: U.S.-staged elections in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and El Salvador Boston: South End Press, p. 94
  5. ↑ Williams & Walter, p. 82

Bibliography

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