A constitutional referendum was held in
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
on 29 November 1942, alongside
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
[Uruguay, 29 November 1942: Constitution]
Direct Democracy The
new constitution was approved by 77.17% of voters.
[
]
Background
On 18 June 1941 a group of General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
members had put forward constitutional amendments.[ However, it was clear that the proposals would not be approved by a majority of voters, and President ]Alfredo Baldomir
Alfredo Baldomir Ferrari (August 27, 1884 – February 25, 1948) was a Uruguayan soldier, architect and politician. He served as President of Uruguay from 1938 to 1943 and is most notable for leading Uruguay to support the Allies during World W ...
subsequently dissolved the General Assembly on 21 February 1942.[
A commission, composed of the largest party, put forward a draft constitution on 28 May, with some small changes to the previous amendments.][ Baldomir then issued a decree stating that the new constitution would be approved if a majority of those voting were in favour, rather than the previous requirement, established in the 1934 constitution, of a majority of registered voters voting in favour.][
]
New constitution
The new constitution would limit the President and Vice President to a single term in office.[ It provided for a bicameral General Assembly, with a ]Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
elected by proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.[ The lema system would be abolished.][
Constitutional initiatives would be possible if supported by 10% of registered voters (reduced from 20%), with the General Assembly allowed to put forward a counter-proposal. Amendments would require a majority vote in both houses of the General Assembly, approval by a Constitutional Council, and then a referendum, in which at least 35% of registered voters must vote in favour.][
]
Results
See also
* Uruguayan Constitution
References
{{Uruguayan elections
1942 referendums
1942 in Uruguay
Referendums in Uruguay
Constitutional referendums in Uruguay
November 1942 events