General elections were held in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

on 6 May 1951.

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'', p133

Víctor Paz Estenssoro Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for pre ...

of the opposition

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( es, Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario , MNR) is a centre-right conservative political party in Bolivia and was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influen ...

(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 Hugo Ballivián Rojas (7 June 1901 – 15 July 1993) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the ''de facto'' 44th president of Bolivia from 1951 to 1952. A career military officer, he was Commander of the Bolivian Armed F ...

as President. The National Congress was ultimately dissolved by Supreme Decree of 7 June, 1951, which annulled the results of the elections.

Electoral system

Until 1956, Bolivia did not have

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

. Rather, the country operated under the "qualified vote" system in which deputies elected in parish and provincial boards then voted in general elections. Under this system, ballots for president and vice president were separate resulting in different vote totals for each.

Campaign

The

Republican Socialist Unity Party The Republican Socialist Unity Party ( Spanish: ''Partido de la Unión Republicana Socialista'', PURS) was a political party founded on 10 November 1946 in Bolivia as the fusion of the Republican Socialist Party, the Genuine Republican Party, the ...

(PURS) and the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(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

Vice-President

References

Bibliography

* {{Bolivian elections Elections in Bolivia

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Presidential elections in Bolivia Election and referendum articles with incomplete results