Costa Rican Constituent Assembly election, 1948

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Constituent Assembly elections were held in Costa Rica on 8 December 1948, [1] following the Costa Rican Civil War. The result was a victory for the National Unity Party, which won 34 of the 45 seats. Voter turnout was 47.5%. [2] The assembly drew up the 1949 constitution.

Constituent Assembly of Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s National Constituent Assembly was formed after the 1948 civil war. Elections to the Assembly for a New Constitution were called on December 8, 1948 by the then de facto Junta provisional government presided by José Figueres. The Assembly took place between January 15 and November 7, 1949. The Assembly successfully drafted and approved the current Costa Rican Constitution.

Costa Rica country in Central America

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 5 million in a land area of 51,060 square kilometers. An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José with around 2 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.

The Costa Rican Civil War was the bloodiest event in 20th-century Costa Rican history. It lasted for 44 days, during which approximately 2,000 people are believed to have died. The conflict was precipitated by the vote of the Costa Rican Legislature, dominated by pro-government representatives, to annul the results of the presidential elections held in February, alleging that the triumph of opposition candidate Otilio Ulate had been achieved by fraud.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
National Unity Party 62,30074.234
Constitutional Party 10,81512.96
Social Democratic Party 6,4157.64
National Fellowship Party 2,4392.91
Civic Action Party 8441.00
People's Republican Movement 7490.90
Liberal Party 4480.50
Invalid/blank votes--
Total84,01010045
Source: Nohlen

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen (2005-04-14). Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1: North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Oxford University Press. p. 155. ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6.
  2. Nohlen, p156