General elections were held in Honduras on 10 October 1954.[1] The elections were relatively honest.[2] and saw Ramón Villeda Morales of the Liberal Party emerge as the most popular presidential candidate with 48% of the vote. However, the constitution required Congress to confirm the president if no candidate received a majority in the popular vote. The Liberals did not have a majority in Congress, and the National Party and National Reformist Movement (MNR) agreed to block Villeda's candidacy, although they were unable to agree on a candidate of their own.[3] The two parties boycotted the confirmation session in November – an idea proposed by US Ambassador Whitting Willauer – meaning those present did not form a quorum.[4]
Amid the crisis, incumbent president Juan Manuel Gálvez handed over the presidency to his vice-president Julio Lozano Díaz due to illness.[2] Lozano decided to remain in office,[5] dissolved congress and appointed a 59-member State Advisory Council with representatives from the Liberal, National and MNR. It was to write a new constitution, labor code, social security law, and act merely in an advisory capacity to the president.[6]
Results
editPresident
edit| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramón Villeda Morales | Liberal Party | 121,213 | 48.10 | |
| Tiburcio Carías Andino | National Party | 77,726 | 30.85 | |
| Abraham Williams Calderón | National Reformist Movement | 53,041 | 21.05 | |
| Total | 251,980 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 251,980 | 99.75 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 644 | 0.25 | ||
| Total votes | 252,624 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 411,354 | 61.41 | ||
| Source: Nohlen | ||||
Congress
edit| Party | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party | 24 | +24 | |
| National Party | 23 | –26 | |
| National Reformist Movement | 12 | New | |
| Total | 59 | +10 | |
| Source: Parker | |||
References
edit- ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p407 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ a b Thomas P. Anderson (1969) The war of the dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969, p59
- ^ Franklin D. Parker (1981) The Central American republics, p190
- ^ Kirk Bowman (2001) "The public battles over militarisation and democracy in Honduras, 1954-1963", Journal of Latin American Studies volume 33, pp539–560
- ^ Donald E. Schulz & Deborah Sundloff Schulz (1994) The United States, Honduras, and the crisis in Central America, p25
- ^ Thomas J. Dodd (2005) Tiburcio Carías: Portrait of a Honduran political leader, p229
Bibliography
edit- Anderson, Thomas P. The war of the dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador, 1969. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 1981.
- Bardales B., Rafael. Historia del Partido Nacional de Honduras. Tegucigalpa: Servicopiax Editores. 1980.
- Becerra, Longino. Evolución histórica de Honduras. Tegucigalpa: Baktun Editorial. 1983.
- Bowdler, George A. And Patrick Cotter. Voter participation in Central America, 1954-1981. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, Inc. 1982.
- Dodd, Thomas J. Tiburcio Carías: portrait of a Honduran political leader. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 2005.
- Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1. North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Edited by Dieter Nohlen. 2005.
- Euraque, Darío A. Reinterpreting the banana republic: region and state in Honduras, 1870-1972. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1996.
- Fernández, Arturo. Partidos políticos y elecciones en Honduras 1980. Tegucigalpa: Editorial Guaymuras. Second edition. 1983.
- Haggerty, Richard and Richard Millet. 1995. “Historical setting.” Merrill, Tim L., ed. 1995. Honduras: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.
- MacCameron, Robert. Bananas, labor and politics in Honduras: 1954-1963. Syracuse: Syracuse University.
- Martz, John D. Central America, the crisis and the challenge. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 1959. 1983.
- Martz, John D. Central America, the crisis and the challenge. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 1959.
- Morris, James A. Honduras: caudillo politics and military rulers. Boulder: Westview Press. 1984.
- Parker, Franklin D. The Central American republics. Westport: Greenwood Press. Reprint of 1964 original. 1981.
- Political handbook of the world 1954. New York, 1955.
- Posas, Mario and Rafael del Cid. La construcción del sector público y del estado nacional en Honduras (1876-1979). San José: EDUCA. Second edition. 1983.
- Villars, Rina. “La conquista del voto: mociones legislativas (1949-1953) y percepción social sobre los derechos de la mujer.” Estudios de la mujer: una antología. 2004. Tegucigalpa: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras.
- Weaver, Frederick Stirton. Inside the volcano: the history and political economy of Central America. Boulder: Westview Press. 1994.