1946 Colombian presidential election

1946 Colombian presidential election

5 May 1946

Nominee Mariano Ospina Pérez Gabriel Turbay Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Party Conservative Liberal Liberal dissident Popular vote 565,939 441,199 358,957 Percentage 41.43% 32.30% 26.28%

President before election Alfonso López Pumarejo Liberal Elected President Mariano Ospina Pérez Conservative

Presidential elections were held in Colombia on 5 May 1946, pitching the Colombian Conservative Party against two different Colombian Liberal Party candidates. The Liberals received more votes combined, but due to their division the result was a victory for Mariano Ospina Pérez of the Conservative Party, who received 41.4% of the vote. One of the Liberal candidates, Gabriel Turbay, was also supported by the Social Democratic Party.

Two years after the election, the second Liberal Party candidate, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala, was assassinated. This in turn sparked a ten-year civil war known as La Violencia.

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Mariano Ospina Pérez	Colombian Conservative Party	565,939	41.43
	Gabriel Turbay	Colombian Liberal Party	441,199	32.30
	Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala	Colombian Liberal Party dissident	358,957	26.28
Total			1,366,095	100.00
Valid votes			1,366,095	99.99
Invalid/blank votes			177	0.01
Total votes			1,366,272	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,450,596	55.75
Source: Nohlen