1948 Syrian presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2026}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name =
| country = Syria
| flag_year = 1932
| type = presidential
| ongoing =
| previous_election = 1943 Syrian presidential election
| previous_year = 1943
| next_election = June 1949 Syrian presidential election
| next_year = {{nowrap|1949 (Jun)}}
| election_date = {{Start date|1948|04|18|df=y}}
| image1 = Portrait of Shukri al-Quwatli in 1943 (3×4 cropped).jpeg
| candidate1 = {{nowrap|[[Shukri al-Quwatli]]}}
| party1 = National Party (Syria)
| electoral_vote1 = ”’123”’
| percentage1 = ”’98.4%”’
| image2 =
| candidate2 = {{nowrap|}}
| party2 =
| electoral_vote2 =
| percentage2 =
| title = [[President of Syria|President]]
| before_election = [[Shukri al-Quwatli]]
| before_party = National Bloc (Syria)
| after_election = Shukri al-Quwatli
| after_party = National Party (Syria)
}}
The ”’1948 Syrian presidential election”’ was held on 18 April 1948, when the Syrian [[People’s Assembly of Syria|Chamber of Deputies]] re-elected [[Shukri al-Quwatli]] as [[President of Syria|President of the Syrian Republic]] by 123 votes out of 125. The election was preceded by a constitutional amendment that removed the bar on a sitting president seeking immediate re-election, making al-Quwatli the first Syrian president to serve two consecutive terms.<ref name=”source 1″>{{cite web |title=انتخاب شكري القوتلي رئيساً للجمهورية عام 1948 |url=https://syrmh.com/2024/01/15/إعادة-انتخب-شكري-القوتلي-عام-1947/ |website=التاريخ السوري المعاصر |language=ar |date=15 January 2024}}</ref>

== Background ==

Under Article 68 of the [[Syrian Constitution of 1930|Constitution of 1930]], as operative at the time, the President of the Republic was elected by secret ballot with an absolute majority of the members of the Chamber of Deputies, served a term of five years, and could not be re-elected until five years had elapsed since the end of his presidency.<ref name=”source 1″/> As al-Quwatli’s first term was due to expire in 1948, the constitution as written precluded his immediate re-election.

Eighty-eight deputies proposed an amendment to permit al-Quwatli’s re-election. On the basis of this proposal, the Constitutional Committee convened on 20 March 1948 and sat until late into the night. Comprising representatives of all parliamentary blocs and parties, it announced its unanimous approval of an amendment to Article 68, which was revised to read as follows:

{{quote|The President of the Republic is elected by secret ballot with an absolute majority of the members of the Chamber of Deputies; a relative majority suffices in the second round of voting. His presidency shall last five years. He may not be elected for a third term.<br>No one may be elected to the presidency of the Republic unless he possesses the qualifications that render him eligible for parliamentary membership and has completed his thirty-fifth year of age.<ref name=”source 1″/>}}

When the members of the Chamber were called to vote on the amended article, they approved it by what amounted to unanimity.<ref name=”source 1″/> The chamber then proceeded to the election of the President of the Republic, held in the presence of a large number of citizens and diplomatic representatives.

== Election ==

The [[3rd Chamber of Deputies of Syria|3rd Chamber of Deputies]] held a special session on the morning of Sunday, 18 April 1948, attended by members of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps.<ref name=”source 1″/> A Lebanese delegation was also present, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, and Speaker of the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies.

The session opened at eleven o’clock with the reading of the minutes of the previous session. The Speaker addressed the chamber:

{{quote|This session is convened for the election of the President of the Republic. I ask each of you to elect the person of your choice, write his name on a ballot paper, and when your name is called, come forward to the ballot box and place your paper.<ref name=”source 1″/>}}

Deputies came forward one by one to cast their ballots. When the votes were counted, 125 deputies had voted. Shukri al-Quwatli received 123 votes; two ballot papers were blank.

When the result was announced, it was met with a storm of applause, and cannon fire rang out across the Republic.

== Results ==
{| class=”wikitable”
! colspan=”2″ |Canditates
! Parties
! Votes
! %
|-
|{{Party color cell|National Party (Syria)}}
|[[Shukri al-Quwatli]]
| [[National Party (Syria)|National Party]]
| align=”right” | ”’123”’
| align=”right” | ”’98.4”’
|-
| colspan=5|
|-
|colspan=3|Required majority
| align=center| 68 votes
| align=center| 50% of MPs
|-
| colspan=5|
|-
| colspan=3 | Valid votes
| align=”right” | 123
| align=”right” | 98.4
|-
| align=left colspan=3 | Blank and invalid votes
| align=”right” | 2
| align=”right” | 1.6
|- style=”font-weight:bold;”
| colspan=3 | Total
| align=”right” | 125
| align=”right” | 100
|-
| colspan=3 | Registered voters / turnout
| align=”right” | 134
| align=”right” | 93.3
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Presidents of Syria}}

[[Category:1948 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Syria]]
[[Category:Indirect elections]]