Presidential elections were held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on September 4, 1946.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p262 The result was a victory for

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; November 22, 1898 – August 22, 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 193 ...

of the Radical Party, who received 40% of the public vote and 75% of the Congressional vote.

Electoral system

The election was held using the absolute majority system, under which a candidate had to receive over 50% of the popular vote to be elected. If no candidate received over 50% of the vote, both houses of the National Congress would come together to vote on the two candidates who received the most votes.Nohlen, p259

Candidates

Fernando Alessandri

The support of the Democratic Alliance to Gonzalez motivated the separation of a part of the Radical Party, opposite to the communist-radical alliance, which there shaped the Democratic Radical party directed by

Julio Durán Julio Antonio Gastón Durán Neumann (20 March 1918 – 27 November 1990), was a Chilean lawyer and politician. He ran for President in 1964 against Eduardo Frei Montalva and Salvador Allende. He was a member of the Radical Democracy Party, wh ...

and Arturo Olavarría. This conglomerate raised Alfredo Duhalde's candidacy, supported also by the Authentic Socialist Party. Then, in one slightly confused situation, Duhalde and Arturo Alessandri stoop his respective candidacies giving step to the candidate Fernando Alessandri Rodríguez, standard-bearer of liberal, radical democratic and authentic Socialists of

Marmaduke Grove Marmaduke Grove Vallejo (; July 6, 1878 – May 15, 1954), his name erroneously spelled Marmaduque Grobeh, was a Chilean Air Force officer, political figure and member of the Government Junta of the Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932. Early lif ...

Eduardo Cruz-Coke

The right-wing met in his own convention in July. Conservative, liberal and agrarian Labours Parties members came to the Convention with the following candidates: *Conservatives: Eduardo Cruz-Coke *Agrarian Labour Party: Jaime Larraín *Liberal: Arturo Alessandri, Jose Maza Fernandez and Francisco Bulnes Correa. Nevertheless none managed to triumph in the Convention (65% was needed and then 60% of the delegates to be elect) and this one was suspended after one week. Diverse meetings for the only candidate failed, and in this way Eduardo Cruz-Coke's candidacies remained elevated, supported for the conservatives and

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

, for liberal and agrarian Labour Parties members. Then he remained only Cruz-Coke supported by the conservatives, since liberal and agrarian Labours Parties members continued with

Fernando Alessandri Fernando Alessandri Rodríguez (May 21, 1897 – March 27, 1982) was a Chilean political figure, candidate of the centre-right in Chile's 1946 presidential election. He was the son of Arturo Alessandri, who was president from 1920 to 1925 and a ...

's candidacy, together with a sector of the radicalism (Democratic Radical party), after the resignations of

and the vice-president Alfredo Duhalde.

Gabriel González Videla

Already in February 1946 the situation had been defined inside the Radical party (of the president Ríos) where there face Gabriel Gonzalez Videla and Arturo Olavarría, the latter the support of the ''"Duhaldist"'' faction. Nevertheless, before the voting this one sector abstains, leaving only Olavarría, who was widely defeated by his contender. For your part, the Democratic Alliance, successor of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

, met in a convention on July 21 and decided to support Gonzalez, leaving of side the candidacy of the communist Elías Lafertte.

Bernardo Ibañez

The

Socialist Party of Chile The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...

, opposite to such circumstances, there proposes his own candidate, Bernardo Ibáñez Aguila, though in the election are going to give his vote to Gonzalez Videla.

Results

References

{{Chilean elections Presidential elections in Chile 1946 in Chile

September 1946 events in South America