1936 Peruvian General Election
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General elections were held in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
on 11 October 1936.Elections and Events 1930-1949
The Library, UC San Diego
In the presidential election, Luis A. Eguiguren of the appeared to be heading for victory, but outgoing president
Óscar R. Benavides Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (March 15, 1876 – July 2, 1945) was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th (1914–1915, by coup d'état) and 42nd (1933–1939) President of Peru, with his latter term being ...
who favored , ordered the count to be stopped and the election results were subsequently annulled. Benavides subsequently stayed in power as president.


Background

Incumbent president Benavides' term of office was due to expire in December 1936. He announced that he would not run for re-election and called elections for 11 October. There were eighteen political parties in existence, but most ran as alliances in the election. Four candidates were approved to run for office. The election commission barred
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (February 22, 1895 – August 2, 1979) was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political ...
of the
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance The Peruvian Aprista Party (, PAP) () is a Peruvian social-democratic political party and a member of the Socialist International. The party was founded as the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (, APRA) by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Tor ...
(APRA) on 5 September 1936 under article 53 of the constitution, which banned 'international parties'. The APRA subsequently convinced Luis Antonio Eguiguren to disown the National Front of and organise his own Democratic Front, which the APRA called for its members to vote for.


Results


President

When it appeared Eguiguren was winning, Benavides ordered the count to be suspended on the basis that members of the banned APRA had voted for him. At the point it was stopped on 21 October, with 70 of the 119 provinces having completed the count, Eguiguren had 74,485 votes,La anulacion de las elecciones generales del 11 de octubre en el Peru por el Jurado Nacional
Laa Nacion, 6 November 1936, p11
or 37% of the total.


Aftermath

Under pressure from Benavides, on 4 November the outgoing Congress met and declared the election annulled. A motion by the Revolutionary Union that accused Benavides of having "presented the presidential and parliamentary elections of the period 1936–1941" was defeated by 64 votes to 13. Benavides subsequently forced Congress to pass a law extending his term until 1939 and then dissolved the legislature, instead ruling by decree and forming a new all-military government.


References

{{Peruvian elections
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
Presidential elections in Peru Parliamentary elections in Peru Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Annulled elections October 1936 in South America