Colombian general election, 1970

General elections were held in Colombia on 19 April 1970 to elect the President, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives.^[1] It was the first time all three institutions had been elected on the same day, and was also the last election under the National Front agreement, which had restricted electoral participation to the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, with each party allocated 50% of the seats in both houses,^[2] whilst the Presidency alternated between the two parties. As a result, the main contest in parliamentary elections was between factions within each party,^[2] whilst only Conservative candidates ran for the presidency. The result was a victory for Misael Pastrana Borrero, who received 40.7% of the vote.^[3] However, supporters of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla claimed that the election had been rigged in favour of Pastrana.^[3] Rojas had also been supported by the Christian Social Democratic Party.^[3] The 19th of April Movement guerrillas traced their origins to this alleged fraud.^[4]

Results

President

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Misael Pastrana Borrero	Conservative Party	1,625,025	40.7
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla	Conservative Party–ANAPO	1,561,468	39.1
Belisario Betancur	Conservative Party	471,350	11.8
Evaristo Sourdis Juliao	Conservative Party	336,286	8.4
Rafael Corredor		11	0.0
Invalid/blank votes		42,318	–
Total		4,036,458	100
Registered voters/turnout		7,683,785	52.5
Source: Nohlen

Senate

Party	Faction	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Conservative Party	National Popular Alliance	1,036,650	26.2	26	+8
	Pastranistas	586,131	14.8	18	–
	Belisaristas	294,185	7.4	9	–
	Sourdistas	185,206	4.7	6	–
	Total	2,102,172	53.1	59	+6
Liberal Party	Pastranistas	1,074,059	27.2	39	–
	National Popular Alliance	382,777	10.0	12	+12
	Sourdistas	152,506	3.9	5	–
	Belisaristas	131,430	3.3	3	–
	Others	108,653	2.7	0	–
	Total	1,849,425	46.8	59	+6
Invalid/blank votes		15,409	–	–	–
Total		3,967,006	100	118	+12
Registered voters/turnout		7,666,716	51.7	–	–
Source: Nohlen

Chamber of Representatives

Party	Faction	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Liberal Party	Pastranistas	1,051,666	26.5	57	–
	National Popular Alliance	536,614	14.2	28	+22
	Sourdistas	156,877	4.0	9	–
	Belisaristas	137,069	3.5	6	–
	People's Liberal Revolutionary Movement	34,491	0.9	0	–1
	Others	90,825	2.3	5	+5
	Total	2,034,542	51.3	105	+3
Conservative Party	National Popular Alliance	849,138	21.4	43	+15
	Pastranistas	589,234	15.0	30	–
	Belisaristas	300,223	7.6	19	–
	Sourdistas	185,686	4.7	13	–
	Others	7,881	0.2	0	–
	Total	1,932,162	48.7	105	+3
Invalid/blank votes		13,497	–	–	–
Total		3,980,201	100	210	+6
Registered voters/turnout		7,666,716	51.9	–	–
Source: Nohlen

References

1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p305 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
2. Nohlen, p323
3. Nohlen, p353
4. "Colombia: The 19th of April Movement". Country Studies Series. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. December 1988. Retrieved July 31, 2015.