Costa Rican Constituent Assembly election, 1948

Last updated March 21, 2019

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.

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, 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

Party	Votes	%	Seats
National Unity Party	62,300	74.2	34
Constitutional Party	10,815	12.9	6
Social Democratic Party	6,415	7.6	4
National Fellowship Party	2,439	2.9	1
Civic Action Party	844	1.0	0
People's Republican Movement	749	0.9	0
Liberal Party	448	0.5	0
Invalid/blank votes		-	-
Total	84,010	100	45
Source: Nohlen

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References

↑ 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.
↑ Nohlen, p156

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[DN-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

v t e Elections and referendums in Costa Rica
Presidential elections	1844 1847 1853 1859 1860 1863 1866 1889 1893 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1919 1923 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1953 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Parliamentary elections	1844 1847 1853 1859 1860 1863 1866 1889 1893 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 (Feb) 1948 (Dec) 1949 1953 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
Local elections	2002 2006 2010 2016
Referendums	1870 2007
See also: Elections in the Federal Republic of Central America