1974 Colombian general election

Last updated

General elections were held in Colombia on 21 April 1974 to elect the President, Senate and Chamber of Representatives. [1] They were the first elections after the end of the National Front agreement, which had restricted electoral participation to the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, with each party allocated 50% of the seats in both houses, [2] whilst the presidency alternated between the two parties.

Contents

Although the elections saw both parties field presidential candidates for the first time in over thirty years, voter turnout was only 45%. In the presidential elections, all three main candidates were the son or daughter of previous presidents. Alfonso López Michelsen of the Liberal Party won a landslide victory [3] with 56% of the vote. [4] The Liberal Party also won a majority of seats in both houses of Congress.

This was the first Colombian election were campaigning on television played a major role. [3] Some have attributed Michelsen's victory to his effectiveness on television. [3]

Background

The National Front era began in 1958 when Liberal leader Alberto Lleras Camargo and Conservative leader Laureano Gomez wrote the Benidorm Pact, which led to a 16-year era in which the Liberal and Conservatives would alternate holding the presidency every four years. The Front was the result of a series of agreements between Camargo and Gomez, including the March Pact and the Sitges Pact, and was aimed at reducing inter-party strife was a response to La Violencia, a civil war between forces of the two parties between 1948 and 1958.

While the National Front reduced violence and helped raise GDP, it resulted in bipartisan stalemate. The Liberal and Conservative parties held almost equal power in both houses of Congress and were unable to pass reforms with a two-thirds majority as securing bipartisan support for policies was nearly impossible. This inability to reform created intra-party factionalism that manifested in the creation of party-affiliated social movements. The rise of dissident groups opposing the National Front challenged the establishment, and many would eventually become official parties prior to the 1974 elections. [5]

Liberal dissenters formed the Liberal Recovery Movement under Alfonso Lopez Michelsen in 1959. In 1961, the populist National Popular Alliance was formed by Gustavo Rojas Pinilla after his return from exile. [6] As these movements gained power, by 1974 the original Liberal and Conservative parties had become weak and internally fractioned, but no longer strongly opposed one another. Migration from rural to urban areas had also weakened party identification and loyalty. [7]

Electoral system

The president was elected by first-past-the-post voting in a single round. Members of the Senate and Chamber of Representatives were elected by closed list proportional representation. [8] The voting age was 21 and voting was non-compulsory. [8]

The number of seats in both houses of Congress was reduced as seats created to make an even number in each constituency during the National Front period were abolished. [9]

Presidential candidates

Results

President

Leading presidential candidate in each department
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
Alfonso Lopez Won
Alvaro Hurtado won Colombian Presidential Election Results, 1974.svg
Leading presidential candidate in each department
  Alfonso López Won
  Álvaro Hurtado won
CandidatePartyVotes%
Alfonso López Michelsen Colombian Liberal Party 2,929,71956.35
Álvaro Gómez Hurtado Colombian Conservative Party 1,634,87931.44
María Eugenia Rojas Correa National Popular Alliance 492,1669.47
Hernando Echeverri Meija National Opposition Union 137,0542.64
Hermes Duarte AriasChristian Democratic Party5,7180.11
José CórdobaIndependent60.00
Total5,199,542100.00
Valid votes5,199,54299.76
Invalid/blank votes12,5910.24
Total votes5,212,133100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,964,47258.14
Source: Nohlen

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Colombian Liberal Party 2,840,31555.7566+7
Colombian Conservative Party 1,631,11532.0237–22
National Popular Alliance 458,7459.007
National Opposition Union 155,1583.052New
Christian Democratic Party7,9090.160New
Others1,3100.030
Total5,094,552100.00112–6
Valid votes5,094,55299.76
Invalid/blank votes12,2230.24
Total votes5,106,775100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,925,33057.22
Source: Nohlen

Chamber of Representatives

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Colombian Liberal Party 2,835,24555.71113+8
Colombian Conservative Party 1,631,92632.0766–39
National Popular Alliance 458,4249.0115
National Opposition Union 155,8553.065New
Christian Democratic Party5,6740.110New
Others1,7640.030
Total5,088,888100.00199–11
Valid votes5,088,88899.78
Invalid/blank votes11,2110.22
Total votes5,100,099100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,925,33057.14
Source: Nohlen

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p305 ISBN   978-0-19-928358-3
  2. Nohlen, p323
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Abel, Christopher; Palacios, Marco (1991), Bethell, Leslie (ed.), "Colombia since 1958" , The Cambridge History of Latin America: Volume 8: Latin America since 1930: Spanish South America, vol. 8, Cambridge University Press, pp. 629–686, doi:10.1017/chol9780521266529.012, ISBN   978-0-521-26652-9
  4. Nohlen, p353
  5. Dennis M. Hanratty and Sandra W. Meditz (1988) Colombia: A Country Study, GPO for the Library of Congress
  6. Opposition to the National Front Library of Congress Country Studies
  7. The Erosion of Partisan Affiliations Library of Congress Country Studies
  8. 1 2 Colombia IPU
  9. Nohlen, p346
  10. Alfonso López Michelsen Así es Colombia
  11. María Eugenia Rojas Banrepcultural
  12. Hernando Echeverri Meija Tribuna Roja