July 1851 Riograndense general election (RRG)

A presidential election was held on July 1, 1851, as the General Assembly convened to elect the president of the country for the next four-year term. The National Party's domination of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate ensured a victory for the conservative José Pinheiro de Ulhôa Cintra. The defeat of General Antônio de Sousa Netto precipitated the 1851 Riograndense coup d'état that overthrew the First Republic on July 8. As such, President-elect Cintra would never be inaugurated as the government was taken over by the military under the leadership of Sousa Netto.

The adoption of the Radical Constitution and the creation of the Second Republic in September would prompt a new general election in October.