# Constituent Assembly Elected (1984)

URL: https://allhistories.com/guatemala/timeline/1984-constituent-assembly-elected
Location: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Themes: ruler-change

After the 1983 coup, Mejía Víctores's government created an independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal and a new voters' register and authorised political parties to organise, as part of a transition plan supported by the United States. The left remained excluded, and repression continued in the countryside. On 1 July 1984 voters elected an 88-seat National Constituent Assembly, with voting compulsory for literate citizens. The far-right alliance of the National Liberation Movement and the Authentic Nationalist Central (MLN–CAN) won 23 seats, the new National Centre Union (UCN) of the newspaper publisher Jorge Carpio Nicolle 21, the Guatemalan Christian Democracy (DCG) led by Vinicio Cerezo 20, and the Revolutionary Party 10, with smaller parties sharing the rest. Observers considered the elections the most honest in many years, despite the restrictions. The Assembly was installed in August 1984 to draft a new constitution and electoral and amparo laws. The results revealed the strength of the centre parties and the decline of the army's traditional allies, foreshadowing the Christian Democrat victory in 1985. The Assembly completed its work in less than a year. At this point in the timeline (1 July 1984), the Head of State (de facto President) of Guatemala was Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores (8 August 1983 – 14 January 1986).

## Why it matters
It launched the constitutional process that produced the charter still in force today.

Ruler at the Time: [Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores](https://allhistories.com/guatemala/rulers/oscar-humberto-mejia-victores)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1984 Guatemalan Constitutional Assembly election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Guatemalan_Constitutional_Assembly_election)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — 1984 Guatemalan Constitutional Assembly election](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=1984+Guatemalan+Constitutional+Assembly+election)
- [Wikipedia — Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Humberto_Mej%C3%ADa_V%C3%ADctores)
- [Tribunal Supremo Electoral de Guatemala](https://www.tse.org.gt/)
- [Wikipedia — The Armed Conflict (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Civil_War)