Chilean presidential election, 1952

Chile

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A presidential election was held in Chile on September 4, 1952. It was the first presidential election where women were allowed to vote, after gaining the right in 1949. The election was won by Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, who obtained 46.8% of the vote, after confirmation by Congress.

Candidates

Pedro Enrique Alfonso

Alfonso was the candidate of the Radical Party, and was also supported by the Social Democratic political spectrum. His government would have become the fourth consecutive Radical administration, since Pedro Aguirre Cerda was elected President.

Salvador Allende

Allende, a senator, was the candidate of the Socialist Party, and was running for President for the first time. He had the support of the banned Communist Party.

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo

Former President Ibáñez was an independent senator for Santiago, and was attempting to reach the Presidency, once again, by popular vote. He had the support of minor parties, like the Popular Socialist Party and the Agrarian Labor Party, among others.

Arturo Matte

Matte was a liberal senator supported by the Liberal and Conservative parties. He was Finance Minister under the administration of Juan Antonio Ríos.

Results

Election

Ibáñez's victory was overwhelming. He was helped by the undergoing structural crisis and the loss of prestige of politicians because of corruption and inefficiency.

Picture	Candidate	Party/Coalition	Votes	%
	Carlos Ibáñez del Campo	Agrario Laborista/Socialista Popular	446,439	46.8%
	Arturo Matte Larraín	Liberal/Conservador Tradicionalista	265,357	27.8%
	Pedro Enrique Alfonso Barrios	Radical/Social Christian Conservative	190,360	20.0%
	Salvador Allende Gossens	Frente del Pueblo	51,975	5.4%
	blanks/nulls		2,971
	Total valid votes		954,131	100%

Source: ^[1]

Confirmation by Congress

Ibáñez, however, failed to obtain an absolute majority, and thus, had to be confirmed by Congress, which chose on October 24, 1952 among the top two majorities. The voting was the following:

Candidate	Votes	%
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo	132	91.67
Arturo Matte Larraín	12	8.33
blanks	30
Total valid votes	144

Source: ^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Presidential Election 1952 accessdate=2 April 2010". http://eleccion.atspace.com/presidente1952.htm.  (Spanish)