1862 Argentine presidential election

The Argentine presidential election of 1862 was held on 4 September to choose the first president of Argentina. Bartolomé Mitre was elected president.

1862 Argentine general election

4 September 1862
156 members of the Electoral College 79 votes needed to win
Nominee Bartolomé Mitre Party Liberal Party Running mate Marcos Paz Electoral vote 133 States carried 13 Percentage 100%
President before election Bartolomé Mitre (Acting President and Governor of Buenos Aires) Democratic Liberal Elected President Bartolomé Mitre Democratic Liberal

Background

These elections were all indirectly decided in the electoral college, and not reflective of popular vote (whose turnout averaged 10% of male suffrage). The cosmetic nature of this electoral system, which became known locally as the voto cantado (the "vote song," for its predetermined script), resulted from a period of intermittent civil wars between those who favored a united Argentina with a strong central government (Unitarians) and Buenos Aires Province leaders who favored an independent nation of their own (Federalists). These conflicts had dominated local political life since 1820, and did not immediately subside with the enactment of the Argentine Constitution of 1853.

The military guarantor of the Argentine Confederation, General Justo José de Urquiza, lost control over his appointed successor, Santiago Derqui, and this led Buenos Aires Governor Bartolomé Mitre to take up arms in defense of autonomy against what he saw as Derqui's reneging on their 1860 gentlemen's agreement. Victorious at the 1861 Battle of Pavón, Mitre obtained important concessions from the national army - notably the amendment of the Constitution to provide for indirect elections through an electoral college comprised - by design - somewhat disproportionately of electors from the nation's hinterland provinces.

A skilled negotiator, Mitre placated restive sentiment in Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos Provinces (where separatist sentiment was highest), and nominated Marcos Paz, a Federalist and former Mitre foe, as his running mate. Arranging an electoral college election on 4 September 1862, he and Paz received the body's unanimous support.

Results

Argentine Republic
Population	1,400,000
Voters	14,000
Turnout	1%

Presidential Candidates	Party	Electoral Votes
Bartolomé Mitre	Liberal Party	133
Total voters		133
Did not vote		23
Total		156

Vice Presidential Candidates	Party	Electoral Votes
Marcos Paz	Liberal Party	91
Manuel Taboada	Unitarian	16
Tadeo Rojo	—	6
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento	—	5
Mariano Fragueiro	Unitarian	5
Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield	Unitarian	3
Manuel Anselmo Ocampo	—	3
Manuel Urdinarrain	—	3
Valentín Alsina	Unitarian	1
Total voters		133
Did not vote		23
Total		156

Results by Province

Province	President		Vice President
	Mitre		Paz	Taboada	Rojo	Sarmiento	Fragueiro	Vélez Sarsfield	Ocampo	Urdinarrain	Alsina
Buenos Aires	25		15	4		1		1	3		1
Catamarca	Did not vote		Did not vote
Córdoba	12		3			4	5
Corrientes	11		11
Entre Ríos	8		3					2		3
Jujuy	7		7
La Rioja	6		6
Mendoza	9		9
Salta	9		9		6
San Juan	8		2
San Luis	8		8
Santa Fe	8		8
Santiago del Estero	12			12
Tucumán	10		10
Total	133		91	16	6	5	5	3	3	3	1

References

• Diario de Sesiones de la Cámara de Diputados del Año 1862. Tomo Primero. Buenos Aires: La Tribuna. 1863. p. vi.
• Duhalde, Eduardo Luis (2007). Acción Parlamentaria de John William Cooke. Buenos Aires: Colihue. p. 232. ISBN 978-950-563-460-6.
• Rosa, José María (1981). Historia Argentina, Tomo VII: La Oligarquía (1862-1878). Buenos Aires: Editorial Oriente S.A. p. 10.
• "Historia Electoral Argentina (1912-2007), p. 58" (PDF). www.mininterior.gov.ar. Ministry of the Interior. December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.