1951 Bolivian general election

1951 Bolivian general election
	6 May 1951
Registered	204,649
	Presidential election
President before election; Mamerto Urriolagoitía; PURS	Elected President ; Election results annulled; President Urriolagoitía enacts a self-coup.; Brigadier General Hugo Ballivián becomes de facto president;

General elections were held in Bolivia on 6 May 1951.^[1] 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 National Congress was ultimately dissolved by Supreme Decree of 7 June, 1951, which annulled the results of the elections.^[2] Paz Estenssoro went into exile until 1952 when the Bolivian National Revolution enabled him to take office as president.^[3]

Electoral system

Until 1956, Bolivia did not have universal suffrage. Rather, the country operated under the "qualified vote" system in which deputies elected in parish and provincial boards then voted in general elections.^[4] Under this system, ballots for president and vice president were separate resulting in different vote totals for each.

Campaign

The Republican Socialist Unity Party (PURS) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) formed the Social Democratic Action alliance to contest the election, with Gabriel Gosalvez of PURS running for President and Roberto Arce of the PSD running for Vice-President.

Results

President


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Víctor Paz Estenssoro	Revolutionary Nationalist Movement	54,129	42.92
	Gabriel Gosálvez	Republican Socialist Unity Party	40,381	32.02
	Bernardino Bilbao Rioja	Bolivian Socialist Falange	13,259	10.51
	Guillermo Gutiérrez Vea Murguía	Bolivian Civic Action	6,654	5.28
	Tomás Manuel Elío	Liberal Party	6,530	5.18
	José Antonio Arze	Revolutionary Left Party	5,170	4.10
Total			126,123	100.00

Registered voters/turnout			204,649	–
Source: Nohlen

Vice-President


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Hernán Siles Zuazo	Revolutionary Nationalist Movement	52,602	43.25
	Roberto Arce	Social Democratic Party	38,202	31.41
	Alfredo Flores	Bolivian Socialist Falange	12,397	10.19
	Julio Salmón	Bolivian Civic Action	6,778	5.57
	Bailón Mercado	Liberal Party	6,558	5.39
	Abelardo Villalpando Retamozo	Revolutionary Left Party	5,093	4.19
Total			121,630	100.00

Registered voters/turnout			204,649	–
Source: OEP

References

^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p133 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
^ Political Handbook of the World 1956, New York, 1956. p14
^ Field, Thomas C. (2025), Coleman, Kevin; Carassai, Sebastián (eds.), "The Limits of Superpower: US Developmentalists and the Local Origins of Bolivia's 1964 Coup", Coups d'État in Cold War Latin America, 1964–1982, Cambridge University Press, pp. 47–67, doi:10.1017/9781009344821.003, ISBN 978-1-009-34483-8
^ "Voto calificado y voto universal". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.

Bibliography

Gisbert, Carlos D. Mesa (2003). Presidentes de Bolivia: entre urnas y fusiles : el poder ejecutivo, los ministros de estado (in Spanish). Editorial Gisbert.

[N1-1] Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p133 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3

[2] Political Handbook of the World 1956, New York, 1956. p14

[3] Field, Thomas C. (2025), Coleman, Kevin; Carassai, Sebastián (eds.), "The Limits of Superpower: US Developmentalists and the Local Origins of Bolivia's 1964 Coup", Coups d'État in Cold War Latin America, 1964–1982, Cambridge University Press, pp. 47–67, doi:10.1017/9781009344821.003, ISBN 978-1-009-34483-8

[4] "Voto calificado y voto universal". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.

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