1935 Philippine general election

1935 Philippine general election

September 16, 1935
Presidential election
Candidate Manuel Quezon Emilio Aguinaldo Gregorio Aglipay Party Nacionalista National Socialist Republican Running mate Sergio Osmeña Raymundo Melliza Norberto Nabong Popular vote 695,332 179,349 148,010 Percentage 67.99% 17.54% 14.47%
Elected President Manuel L. Quezon Nacionalista
Vice presidential election
Candidate Sergio Osmeña Raymundo Melliza Norberto Nabong Party Nacionalista National Socialist Republican Popular vote 1,445,897 70,899 51,443 Percentage 90.24% 7.59% 5.50%
Elected Vice President Sergio Osmeña Nacionalista
National Assembly election
All 98 seats in the House of Representatives of the Philippines 50 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Gil Montilla Manuel Roxas Party Nacionalista–Democratico Nacionalista–Democrata Pro-Independencia Leader's seat Negros Occidental's–3rd Capiz–1st Seats won 64 19 Seat change 6 0
Speaker before election Quintín Paredes Nacionalista Democratico Elected Speaker Gil Montilla Nacionalista Democratico

The 1935 Philippine general election was the first general election of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. This was also the first direct election of the President of the Philippines and Vice President of the Philippines, positions created by the 1935 constitution. Furthermore, members of the National Assembly of the Philippines, that replaced the Philippine Legislature were elected.

The Nacionalista Party, which was split into two camps supporting Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña, and reconciled prior to the election, maintained its electoral superiority, with Quezon winning the presidency, Osmeña the vice presidency, and majority of the National Assembly seats.

Background

Drafting the Constitution

Main article: Tydings–McDuffie Act

With the passage of Tydings–McDuffie Act in US Congress and its ratification in the Philippine Legislature, a constitutional convention is called by 1934 with its members elected by July. With the successful creation of the 1935 constitution, Presidency and Vice Presidency had been establish to replace the Governor-General. Also, both chambers of the Philippine Legislature has been cleared, with the creation of a unicameral National Assembly.

Quezon vs Aguinaldo

With former President Emilio Aguinaldo joined the race for presidency, Quezon campaigned against Aguinaldo by portraying the latter as the "one who destroyed revolution" with repeatedly using the assassinations of Supremo Andrés Bonifacio in 1897, and on General Antonio Luna in 1899. Quezon also allegedly paraded Bonifacio's bones. Aguinaldo is notable for supporting the late Governor-General Leonard Wood in 1920s against Quezon being against Wood's too much interference to the Philippine local government.

Results

President

Main article: 1935 Philippine presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Manuel L. Quezon	Nacionalista Party	695,332	67.98
	Emilio Aguinaldo	National Socialist Party	179,349	17.53
	Gregorio Aglipay	Republican Party	148,010	14.47
	Pascual Racuyal	Independent	158	0.02
Total			1,022,849	100.00

Vice president

Main article: 1935 Philippine vice presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Sergio Osmeña	Nacionalista Party	812,352	86.91
	Raymundo Melliza	National Socialist Party	70,899	7.59
	Norberto Nabong	Republican Party	51,443	5.50
Total			934,694	100.00

National Assembly

Main article: 1935 Philippine legislative election

Party		Seats	+/–
	Nacionalista Democratico	64	New
	Nacionalista Democrata Pro-Independencia	19	New
	Independent	6	New
Total		89	−3
Source: Teehankee and PCDSPO

Popular culture

The presidential election is featured in 2025 movie Quezon.