Bolivian general election, 1978
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Bolivia |
Presidency |
General elections were held in Bolivia on 9 July 1978.[1] The elections were the first held since 1966, with several military coups taking place during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[1] Although Juan Pereda of the Nationalist Union of the People won the presidential elections, more votes were cast than there were registered voters.[2] After examining a number of allegations of fraud and other irregularities, the Electoral Court decided to annul the results on 20 July.[3] The following day, Pereda was installed as President following a military coup. Pereda himself was overthrown by yet another military coup in November, which saw General David Padilla assume the presidency.[4] Fresh elections were held the following year, with Padilla transferring power to his democratically elected successor, Wálter Guevara.
Campaign
Several alliances were formed for the elections:[5]
Juan Pereda was supported in his presidential bid by both the Nationalist Union of the People and the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement of the People, whilst René Bernal Escalante was the candidate of both the PDC–PRB alliance and the Eastern Rural Party.[6]
Results
Party | Presidential candidate | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chamber | Senate | ||||
Nationalist Union of the People | Juan Pereda | 986,140 | 50.9 | ||
Democratic and Popular Union | Hernán Siles Zuazo | 484,383 | 25.0 | ||
Democratic Alliance of National Revolution | Víctor Paz Estenssoro | 213,622 | 11.0 | ||
PDC–PRB | René Bernal Escalante | 167,131 | 8.6 | ||
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement of the People | Juan Pereda | 40,905 | 2.1 | ||
Revolutionary Left Front | Casiano Amurrio | 23,459 | 1.2 | ||
Indian Movement Túpac Katari | Luciano Tapia Quisbert | 12,207 | 0.6 | ||
Socialist Party | Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz | 8,323 | 0.4 | ||
Eastern Rural Party | René Bernal Escalante | 1,171 | 0.1 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 53,330 | – | – | – | |
Total | 1,971,968 | 100 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 1,921,556 | 102.6 | – | – | |
Source: Nohlen |