The president and members of the Senate and House of Deputies are
elected by indirect vote. Electors whose number and apportionment
among the several provinces and their subdivisions are prescribed by
law, are chosen by general suffrage in what are called primary
assemblies in the several municipalities and constitute electoral
colleges which meet at the chief town of the respective province. The
electors having cast their votes for president the minutes of the
session are sent to the capital. The votes are counted in joint
session of Congress and the successful candidate is proclaimed by
that body.
Though the election procedure designated in the constitution was
gravely followed, yet not once in the history of the country has the
result of an election been in doubt, nor is there an instance when the
candidate of the government was not elected, excepting only the
election of October, 1914, when the American government brought
watchers from Porto Rico to avoid gross frauds and coercion. Usually
everything was prepared beforehand and the primaries and the meetings
of the electoral colleges were little more than ratification meetings.
Pages:
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478