1979 Besmenian presidential election
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 Pohl | |||||||||||||||||||||
The 1979 Besmenian presidential election took place on 25 February 1979. It was the first presidential election in Besmenia after the voting age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 1974. In addition to the President Erwin Pohl, the Federal Defense Minister Werner Kaltmann (BVP) and the party chairman of the Besmenian Libertarian Party, Udo Kühbacher, stood for election.
For Pohl, who enjoyed great popularity among the Besmenian population, his re-election was assured. His 74.8% election result is the highest result to date for a winning candidate in a Besmenian presidential election. Pohl's campaign was supported by the Social Democratic Union and the Free Besmenian Citizen's Party, which did not nominate their own candidates for this election.
Electoral system
The President of Besmenia is directly elected by the population once every six years. The election is held under a two-round system; if no candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast in the first round, then a second ballot occurs in which only those two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round may stand.
Candidates
Erwin Pohl
President Erwin Pohl, who was elected President of Besmenia as an independent candidate in 1973, was entitled under the Besmenian Basic Law to run for a second term. Pohl officially announced on October 15, 1978 that he wanted to run for a second term.
Results
| Candidate | Party | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | |||
| Erwin Pohl | Independent | 42,659,709 | 74.8% | |
| Werner Kaltmann | BVP | 8,668,817 | 15,2% | |
| Udo Kühbacher | BELP | 5,418,011 | 9,5% | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 285,158 | 0.5% | ||
| Total | 57,031,695 | 100% | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 61,820,856 | 92,25% | ||