1953 Philippine presidential election

The 1953 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November 10, 1953.^[1] Former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay was elected President of the Philippines, defeating Incumbent Elpidio Quirino in his run for a second full term. His running mate Senator Carlos P. Garcia defeated Quirino's running mate Senator José Yulo. Incumbent Vice President Fernando Lopez did not run for re-election. With Magsaysay's election as president, he became the first elected president that did not come from the Senate.

1953 Philippine presidential election

← 1949 November 10, 1953 1957 →

Nominee Ramon Magsaysay Elpidio Quirino Party Nacionalista Liberal Running mate Carlos P. Garcia José Yulo Popular vote 2,912,992 1,313,991 Percentage 68.90% 31.08%

Election results per province/city.

President before election Elpidio Quirino Liberal Elected President Ramon Magsaysay Nacionalista

1953 Philippine vice presidential election

← 1949 November 10, 1953 1957 →

Candidate Carlos P. Garcia José Yulo Party Nacionalista Liberal Popular vote 2,515,265 1,483,802 Percentage 62.90% 37.10%

Vice President before election Fernando Lopez Democratic Elected Vice President Carlos P. Garcia Nacionalista

Summary

After seven years of Liberal rule, the Nacionalista Party laced a strong presidential candidate to end the regime.^[2]

Nacionalista Party

 

Senator Jose P. Laurel

Former President and then-Senator Jose P. Laurel initially had intentions to seek the NP's nomination for president in 1953 but did not go through with it. He then proposed to endorse Secretary of National Defense Ramon Magsaysay, whose successful anti-insurgency and anti-communist initiatives had strained his relations with President Quirino and the LP.

 

Senate President Camilo Osías

Senate President Camilo Osías sought the presidential nomination but ultimately lost to Magsaysay. Senator Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol was picked to be his running-mate.

Liberal Party

 

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Carlos P. Romulo

The Liberal Party renominated President Elpidio Quirino and former House Speaker and Liberal Party President José Yulo for president and vice-president respectively.

Following the nomination, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Carlos P. Romulo and his men walked out of the LP convention and formed the Democratic Party. The DP then nominated Romulo for the presidency and supported the re-election of Vice President Fernando Lopez.

What was supposed to be a three-way race was reduced to a battle between the ruling Liberals against the Nacionalistas after the DP withdrew in support of Magsaysay, resulting in the Nacionalista-Democratic coalition.

Results

Main article: Congressional canvass for the 1953 Philippine presidential election

President

Magsaysay carried most of the provinces except Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Abra in which Ilocos Sur is a bailiwick and home province of President Quirino.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ramon Magsaysay	Nacionalista Party	2,912,992	68.90
	Elpidio Quirino	Liberal Party	1,313,991	31.08
	Gaudencio Bueno	Independent	736	0.02
Total			4,227,719	100.00
Valid votes			4,227,719	97.71
Invalid/blank votes			98,987	2.29
Total votes			4,326,706	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			5,603,231	77.22
Source: Nohlen, Grotz, Hartmann, Hasall and Santos^[3]

Popular vote Magsaysay   68.90% Quirino   31.08% Others   0.02%

Vice-President

Garcia also carried the provinces who voted for Magsaysay except for Isabela, Capiz and Sulu who voted for Yulo. The provinces who voted for President Quirino also voted for Yulo.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Carlos P. Garcia	Nacionalista Party	2,515,265	62.90
	José Yulo	Liberal Party	1,483,802	37.10
Total			3,999,067	100.00
Valid votes			3,999,067	92.43
Invalid/blank votes			327,639	7.57
Total votes			4,326,706	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			5,603,231	77.22
Source: Nohlen, Grotz, Hartmann, Hasall and Santos^[4]

Popular vote Garcia   62.90% Yulo   37.10%

See also

• 1953 Philippine Senate election
• 1953 Philippine House of Representatives elections
• Commission on Elections
• Politics of the Philippines
• Philippine elections
• President of the Philippines
• 3rd Congress of the Philippines

References

1. Gosnell, Harold F. (1954). "An Interpretation of the Philippine Election of 1953". American Political Science Review. 48 (4): 1128–1138. doi:10.2307/1951015. ISSN 0003-0554.
2. . The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. 2013. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2014-04-09.
3. Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos.
   Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific.
4. Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos.
   Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific.

External links

• Official website of the Commission on Elections