1938 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election
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Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 1938.
The elections held on 6 November 1938 were even more of a sham than those that named Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa president in 1936. The Conservatives decided to abstain again, while the ballot boxes and ballots were distributed throughout the country by the quartermaster general of the Guardia Nacional. The final results were made available within twenty-four hours. In 1938 the Genuino Conservatives decided to field candidates for the Constituent Assembly although the Conservative partyâs leadership vehemently opposed the plan.[1]
Results
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Nationalist Liberal Party | 37 | |
| Conservative Nationalist Party | 12 | |
| Traditional Conservative Party | 8 | |
| Total | 57 | |
| Source: Political Handbook of the World[2] | ||
Aftermath
The Assembly adopted the new constitution in March 1939, after which it was transformed into a regular Congress,[3] with a 42-seat Chamber of Deputies and a Senate with 15 elected members and all living ex-presidents. The Nationalist Liberal Party's 37 elected members became 26 deputies and 11 senators, The Conservative Nationalist Party had nine deputies and three senators, while the Traditional Conservative Party had seven deputies and one senator. Ex-Presidents were also entitled to sit in the Senate, with José MarÃa Moncada Tapia doing so on behalf of the Nationalist Liberal Party.
In March 1939 the new Congress elected Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa as president for 1939â1947 and remained as the country's legislature until May 1947.[4]