A presidential election was held in Nicaragua on 15 August 1947.
On 15 August, a Constituent Assembly appointed Dr. Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes, uncle of General Somoza’s wife, as provisional president and Mariano Argüello Vargas, another loyal ‘Somocista,’ as vice-president. Despite the sham election and the new administration’s ‘continuismo’ character, Somoza believed that the government now had legal status and was worthy of recognition. Immediately after taking office, President Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes was rebuffed in his efforts to conciliate differences with the opposition. Although both the Independent Liberals and Conservatives continued their intraparty friction, both remained committed to the restoration of Leonardo Argüello Barreto as president.