1951 Bolivian general election

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.

1951 Bolivian general election

← 1947 6 May 1951 1956 →
Registered	204,649
Presidential election
Nominee Víctor Paz Estenssoro Gabriel Gosálvez Bernardino Bilbao Rioja Party MNR PURS FSB Popular vote 54,129 40,381 13,259 Percentage 42.91% 32.01% 10.51%   Nominee Guillermo Gutiérrez Vea Murguía Tomás Manuel Elío Party ACB Liberal Popular vote 6,654 6,530 Percentage 5.27% 5.17%
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

The National Congress was ultimately dissolved by Supreme Decree of 7 June, 1951, which annulled the results of the elections.^[2]

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.^[3] 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:

References

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. "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.