1958 Costa Rican general election

1958 Costa Rican general election
← 1953 2 February 1958 1962 →
Presidential election
Turnout64.00%
 
Nominee Mario Echandi Jiménez Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich Jorge Rossi Chavarría
Party PUN PLN PI
Popular vote 102,851 94,788 23,910
Percentage 46.42% 42.78% 10.79%
Results by canton
President before election

José Figueres
PLN

Elected President

Mario Echandi
PUN

Parliamentary election
All 45 seats in the Legislative Assembly
23 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats +/–
PLN Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich 41.68 20 −10
PRN Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia 22.36 11 +8
PUN Mario Echandi Jiménez 21.37 10 +9
PI Jorge Rossi Chavarría 9.84 3 New
UCR Frank Marshall Jiménez 3.32 1 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results by province
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Ballot paper

General elections were held in Costa Rica on 2 February 1958.[1] Mario Echandi Jiménez of the National Union Party won the presidential election, whilst the National Liberation Party won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 64.7%.[2]

Echandi was the only deputy for the National Union Party fraction for the 1953-1958 period, and he was in open opposition to the National Liberation Party (PLN) legislative fraction and the executive power presidency of Figueres Ferrer, also of PLN. During the tense invasion of 1955 when former president Rafael Angel Calderon's supporters and their international allies tried to invade Costa Rica's territory and were successfully repelled by Figueres Ferrer’ government, Echandi was accused of being Calderonista and been offered an office as minister from Calderón.[3] Echandi denied it but was put under investigation by the Legislative Assembly.[3] The opposition, encompassed by both Echandi's party National Union and Calderón's Independent Republican left the Assembly in protest.[3] Still Echandi was acquitted and the old loyalties before the war were starting to switch. Echandi as candidate from National Union promised to allow Calderón and family (then exiled in Mexico) to return to Costa Rica and give a general amnesty for all of Calderón's supporters. This gained him the support of the Calderonism, still a powerful political base.[3]

But, whilst PLN's opposition was closing lines, PLN was splitting. After a primary election that was won by Francisco José Orlich (one of PLN's founders and one of the leaders of the 1948 Revolution) his opponent Jorge Rossi left the party and founded a new one called Independent Party.[3] As expected, Rossi's departure and his new party caused a spoiler effect dividing the Social Democratic vote and Echandi won the election with the support of Calderonists.[3]

Echandi did fulfill his promise and allowed Calderón and family to return and passed a general amnesty for all factions.[3]

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p155 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ Nohlen, p156
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Hernández Naranjo, Gerardo. "Reseña de las elecciones presidenciales de 1958" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[permanent dead link]