165 years ago, the first popular vote was held in Venezuela

Published at: 08/04/2025 09:02 AM

On April 8, 1860, the Venezuelan people elected a president for the first time by direct vote, in the framework of the Federal War, when, after the decisive Battles of Santa Inés and Coplé, popular elections were held in Venezuela.

For the first elections that the people came to hold directly and secretly, only those over 20 years of age or married could hold it.

The ballots, carried out under the supervision of Congress, yielded the following results: Manuel Felipe Tovar, 35,010 votes; Pedro Gual, 4,389 votes; José Antonio Páez, 746 votes.

As it was a period dominated by the Federal War, Tovar would hold the Presidency of the Republic until May 20, 1861. The swearing in took place on April 12, 1860, in the Caracas temple in San Francisco.

Historical context

General Páez, who was in New York, returns at the request of the Government to take charge of the Army, holding office for 8 days. The Homeland is decaying, being ruined by the inexplicable civil strife.

President Tovar, pressured by these circumstances and oblivious to intrigue, low passions and ruins, resigns from the Presidency of the Republic, following in the footsteps of another notable civilist, José María Vargas.

Tovar explains it to Congress: “... in the midst of the fight against the rebels, obstacles of all kinds have been created for me, even by men who, like me, had also sworn to uphold it (the Constitution), until an armed revolution broke out, with the defection of troops in the service of the Republic, already in conspiracy with the former enemies of the Institutions”. It was May 20, 1861. That year he went with his family to Paris (France), where he died on February 21, 1866.

Mazo News Team