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1912 Argentine legislative election

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1912 Argentine legislative election
Argentina
1910 7 April 1912 1914

65 of 120 seats in theNational Congress
Turnout73.20%
Party % Seats +/–
Conservative Parties

46.60% 35 −25
Radical Civic Union

21.17% 13 +13
National Civic Union

10.16% 6 +6
National Union

10.04% 6 +6
Socialist Party

6.20% 2 +2
Southern League

2.96% 1 +1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results by province

Argentine legislative elections of 1912were held on 7 April 1912 for theArgentine Chamber of Deputies.The first free, democratic elections in the nation's history, the contest had a turnout of 73%.

Background

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PresidentRoque Sáenz Peña,who made these - Argentina's first free and fair legislative elections - possible despite pressure from his own social class.

The era of dominance by theNational Autonomist Party(PAN), made possible by an 1874 agreement between kingmakersAdolfo AlsinaandBartolomé Mitre(as well as by systematic electoral fraud), was also undone by agreement. A visit toRomein 1909 gave the scion of one of Argentina's most powerful families at the time,Roque Sáenz Peña,the opportunity to meet the governing party's nemesis - the exiled leader of theRadical Civic Union(UCR),Hipólito Yrigoyen.Between one of their numerous discussions, Sáenz Peña was surprised by news that he would carry the PAN's standard for the upcoming "elections" of April, 1910. Sáenz Peña, who had been passed over in favor of his aging (and more conservative) father in 1892, was the counterweight PresidentJosé Figueroa Alcortaneeded against thereactionarywing of his party. Convinced of the need for relectoral reform, Sáenz Peña agreed with Yrigoyen to advance free and fair elections.[1]

President Sáenz Peña kept his word to the eccentric popular leader, who in turn rescinded the UCR's policy ofabstentionism.TheSáenz Peña Law,enacted on February 13, mandated universal male suffrage and the secret ballot. Argentina's largeimmigrant population,most of whom were not yet citizens, were not included in the suffrage; this particularly affected larger cities, such asBuenos AiresandRosario,where, at the time, more than half the population were born outside Argentina.[2]

Voters in the nation's 14 provinces and Federal District (Buenos Aires) turned out in unprecedented numbers, more than tripling the 199,000 ballots registered in the 1910 elections (the last under the "scripted vote song"scheme that had limited suffrage and produced predictable results since 1862). The UCR, whose boycott, dating from 1892, had left them without representation, was rewarded with 11 Congressmen. They maintained their boycott, however, of numerous gubernatorial elections where a lack of legal safeguards was evident - notably inBuenos Aires Province,and were defeated in theLa Riojagubernatorial elections (among the few not boycotted by the party). The UCR did defeat the rivalNational Civic Union(UCN) in their first joint electoral test (the latter had not boycotted earlier elections); the UCR had parted ways from the UCN, founded by former PresidentBartolomé Mitre,in 1890.[2]

TheSocialist Partyincreased their representation from one (the principal Congressional advocate for social legislation and labor laws,Alfredo Palacios) to two:Alfredo PalaciosandJuan B. Justo.[3]

The hitherto dominant PAN had suffered a schism in 1908 led by reformistLisandro de la Torre,who led a significant faction of the ruling party into theLiga del Sur(its successor,Democratic Progressive Party,would become a major third party during the 1920s and '30s).[4]What remained of the PAN became the Conservative Party, which retained its dominance in the Senate, albeit a weakened one; but lost its absolute majority in the Lower House, becoming more reliant on the Unión Nacional (whose strength was in western Argentina).[5]

Elections to the Senate remained the responsibility of each provincial legislature, despite the 1912 reforms, in all districts save for theCity of Buenos Aires.[6]The Buenos Aires race, held on March 30, 1913, resulted in an upset, giving Socialist candidateEnrique del Valle Iberluceaa victory over the UCR'sLeopoldo Meloby 42,000 votes to 39,000. Ten Senate seats in all (one third of the chamber), were renewed in 1913. The UCR's sole Senator in 1913 (its first) was Ignacio Iturraspe, elected bySanta Fe Provincelegislators. The Buenos Aires Province legislature elected ConservativeMarcelino Ugarte,and the party also prevailed inSan Juan,Santiago del Estero,andTucumán.[7]Jujuy Province's two senators were removed on April 21 by President Sáenz Peña amid allegations ofelectoral fraudin provincial legislature races, and Jujuy Republican Party candidates Octavio Iturbe and Carlos Zabala were certified in their stead;[3]the development was another victory for de la Torre, to whose Liga del Sur Iturbe and Zabala also belonged.[4]

Results

[edit]
Party Votes % Seats won Total seats
Total Conservative Parties 277,645 46.60 35 90
Conservative Party 115,427 19.37 15
Official Party 34,031 5.71 5
Liberal Party of Tucumán 29,155 4.89 2
Constitutional Party 19,432 3.26 6
Coalition Party 17,857 3.00 1
National Autonomist Party 17,423 2.92 1
Popular Party 15,478 2.60 1
Liberal Party of Corrientes 14,475 2.43 2
Autonomist Party of Corrientes 14,367 2.41 2
Radical Civic Union 126,142 21.17 13 13
National Civic Union 60,557 10.16 6 6
National Union 59,814 10.04 6 6
Socialist Party 36,945 6.20 2 2
Southern League 17,630 2.96 1 1
Communal Union 17,096 2.87
Vacant seats 2 2
Total 595,829 100 65 120
Positive votes 595,829 87.06
Invalid/blank votes 88,550 12.94
Total votes 684,379 100
Registered voters/turnout 935,001 73.20
Sources:[8][9]

References

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  1. ^Todo Argentina: Roque Sáenz Peña(in Spanish)
  2. ^abRock, David.Argentina:1816-1982.University of California Press, 1987.
  3. ^abTofdo Argentina: 1913(in Spanish)
  4. ^abPartido Demócrata Progresista: Fundación de la Liga del SurArchived2009-01-31 at theWayback Machine(in Spanish)
  5. ^Ministerio del Interior: Historia Electoral ArgentinaArchived2017-07-13 at theWayback Machine(in Spanish)
  6. ^Observatorio Electoral LatinoamericanoArchived2011-07-27 at theWayback Machine(in Spanish)
  7. ^Senado de la Nación: Histórico de SenadoresArchived2010-03-11 at theWayback Machine(in Spanish)
  8. ^Cantón, Darío (1968).Materiales para el estudio de la sociología política en la Argentina(PDF).Vol. Tomo I. Buenos Aires: Centro de Investigaciones Sociales -Torcuato di Tella Institute.p. 81.
  9. ^Las Fuerzas Armadas restituyen el imperio de la soberanía popular: Las elecciones generales de 1946(PDF).Vol. Tomo I. Buenos Aires: Imprenta de la Cámara de Diputados. 1946. p. 340-343.