Bolivian general election, 1979

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Bolivia

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.

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]

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]

Campaign

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

Alliance Parties
Democratic and Popular UnionCommunist Party
Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Movement of the National Left
National Alliance of the 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 IntegrationRevolutionary Agrarian Movement of the Bolivian Peasantry
Bolivian Socialist Falange
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-AllianceAuthentic Revolutionary Party
Christian Democratic Party
Communist Party of Bolivia (Marxist–Leninist)
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Tupaj Katari Revolutionary Movement–Chila

Results

Party Presidential candidate Votes % Seats
Chamber Senate
Democratic and Popular UnionHernán Siles Zuazo528,69636.0388
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-AllianceVíctor Paz Estenssoro527,18435.94816
Nationalist Democratic ActionHugo Banzer218,85714.9193
Socialist Party-1Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz70,7654.850
Popular Alliance for National IntegrationRené Bernal Escalante60,2624.150
Indian Movement Túpac KatariLuciano Tapia Quisbert28,3441.910
Bolivian Union PartyWalter Gonzales Valda18,9761.310
Workers' Vanguard PartyRicardo Catoira16,5601.100
Invalid/blank votes223,856
Total1,693,50010011727
Registered voters/turnout1,871,07090.5
Source: Nohlen

See also

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
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