Bolivian general election, 1979

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General elections were held in Bolivia on 1 July 1979. [1] As no candidate in the presidential elections received a majority of the vote, the National Congress was required to elect a President. However, the Congress failed to elect a candidate after three ballots, and instead selected Senate leader Wálter Guevara to serve as Interim President for a year on 8 August. [2] Guevara was later overthrown by a military coup led by Alberto Natusch on 31 October. Fresh elections were held in June 1980.

Bolivia country in South America

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. The capital is Sucre while the seat of government and financial center is located in La Paz. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales a mostly flat region in the east of Bolivia.

Plurinational Legislative Assembly

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government.

Wálter Guevara President of Bolivia

Wálter Guevara Arze was a Bolivian statesman, cabinet minister, writer, diplomat, and president (1979).

Contents

Although the Democratic and Popular Union received the most votes in the Congressional elections, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-Alliance (A–MNR) won the most seats, largely as a result of the electoral system giving more seats to sparsely populated rural areas where the A–MNR was more popular. [3]

The Democratic and Popular Union (1977–84) was a Bolivian umbrella political alliance uniting various smaller left-wing parties. It was formed in 1977 by former president Hernán Siles Zuazo and consisted chiefly of Siles' Movimiento Nationalista Revolutionario de Izquierda, a spin-off of the Moviminento Nacionalista Revolucionario, and Jaime Paz Zamora's Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria. The coalition became extremely popular with Bolivian voters in the late 1970s, due to fatigue with the military dictatorships that for the most controlled the country since 1964.

Background

General elections had previously been held in July 1978, the first since 1966, with several military coups taking place during the late 1960s and early 1970s. [1] Although Juan Pereda of the Nationalist Union of the People won the presidential elections, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. [4] After examining a number of allegations of fraud and other irregularities, the Electoral Court decided to annul the results on 20 July. [5] The following day, Pereda was installed as President following a military coup. Pereda himself was overthrown by yet another military coup in November, which saw General David Padilla assume the presidency, [6] promising to hold fresh elections in July the following year. [3]

Juan Pereda Asbún was a former military general and dictator of Bolivia (1978). Although he ruled for only four months, his ascent to the presidency marked the beginning of the most unstable period in Bolivian history, with nine presidents in a little over 4 years (1978–1982), in comparison to only one in the previous seven.

Campaign

A total of 1,378 candidates contested the 144 seats in Congress. [3] Several alliances were formed for the elections: [7]

AllianceParties
Democratic and Popular Union Communist Party
Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Movement of the National Left
Alliance of the National Left
Popular Movement for National Liberation
Revolutionary Left Movement
Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left
Revolutionary Party of the Workers of Bolivia
Socialist Party–Atahuichi
Tupaj Katari Revolutionary Movement
Popular Alliance for National Integration Revolutionary Agrarian Movement of the Bolivian Peasantry
Bolivian Socialist Falange
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-Alliance Authentic Revolutionary Party
Christian Democratic Party
Communist Party of Bolivia (Marxist–Leninist)
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Tupaj Katari Revolutionary Movement–Chila

Results

Election result by department:
Departments where Paz Estenssoro won
Departments where Siles won 1979 Bolivian elections map.png
Election result by department:
  Departments where Paz Estenssoro won
  Departments where Siles won
PartyPresidential candidateVotes%Seats
ChamberSenate
Democratic and Popular Union Hernán Siles Zuazo 528,69636.0388
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-Alliance Víctor Paz Estenssoro 527,18435.94816
Nationalist Democratic Action Hugo Banzer 218,85714.9193
Socialist Party-1 Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz 70,7654.850
Popular Alliance for National Integration René Bernal Escalante60,2624.150
Indian Movement Túpac Katari Luciano Tapia Quisbert28,3441.910
Bolivian Union Party Walter Gonzales Valda18,9761.310
Workers' Vanguard Party Ricardo Catoira16,5601.100
Invalid/blank votes223,856
Total1,693,50010011727
Registered voters/turnout1,871,07090.5
Source: Nohlen

See also

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Víctor Paz Estenssoro President of Bolivia

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1989 Bolivian general election

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1978 Bolivian general election

General elections were held in Bolivia on 9 July 1978. The elections were the first held since 1966, with several military coups taking place during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although Juan Pereda of the Nationalist Union of the People won the presidential elections, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. After examining a number of allegations of fraud and other irregularities, the Electoral Court decided to annul the results on 20 July. The following day, Pereda was installed as President following a military coup. Pereda himself was overthrown by yet another military coup in November, which saw General David Padilla assume the presidency. Fresh elections were held the following year, with Padilla transferring power to his democratically elected successor, Wálter Guevara.

1980 Bolivian general election

General elections were held in Bolivia on 29 June 1980, the third in three years. As no candidate in the presidential elections received a majority of the vote, the National Congress was required to elect a President on 6 August. With Hernán Siles Zuazo of the Democratic and Popular Union the favourite to win the Congressional ballot, the process was disrupted on 17 July by the military coup led by General Luis García Meza Tejada. However, Meza was pressured to resign on 4 August 1981, resulting in General Celso Torrelio becoming President. In July 1982 he was replaced by General Guido Vildoso, who was named by the high command to return the country to democratic rule. On 17 September 1982, during a general strike that brought the country close to civil war, the military decided to step down, to reconvene the National Congress elected in 1980, and to accept its choice of President. Accordingly, the National Congress revalidated the 1980 election results on 23 September and overwhelmingly elected Hernán Siles Zuazo as President on 5 October. He subsequently assumed the presidency on 10 October 1982.

1964 Bolivian general election

General elections were held in Bolivia on 31 May 1964. Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) was the only candidate for president, and was re-elected with 98% of the vote. The MNR retained its large majority in Congress.

1951 Bolivian general election

General elections were held in Bolivia on 6 May 1951. Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the opposition Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) received the most votes in the presidential election, but as he did not obtain an absolute majority, the National Congress was constitutionally obliged to elect a President on 6 August from the three candidates who received the most public votes. However, on 16 May a military junta assumed responsibility for the Government with Brigadier General Hugo Ballivián as President.

The Authentic Revolutionary Party was a political party in Bolivia.

The Popular Christian Movement was a political party in Bolivia, de facto controlled by the military junta.

The Nationalist Union of the People was a right-wing, pro-military electoral political alliance in Bolivia.

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References

  1. 1 2 Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p133 ISBN   978-0-19-928358-3
  2. Report on the situation of human rights in the Republic of Bolivia: Chapter IV: Political rights Archived February 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . OAS
  3. 1 2 3 1979 IPU
  4. Nohlen, p143
  5. Waltraud Q Morales (2003) A brief history of Bolivia New York: Facts On File, p195
  6. Nohlen, p157
  7. Nohlen, p139