1958 Chilean presidential election

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1958 Chilean presidential election
Flag of Chile.svg
  1952 4 September 1958 1964  
Turnout83.50%
  Jorge Alessandri Official Presidential Portrait (1958) Cropped and Coulorized.jpg Salvador Allende 1952.JPG
Candidate Jorge Alessandri Salvador Allende
Party Independent Socialist
Alliance LiberalConservative FRAP
Popular vote389,909 356,493
Percentage31.56%28.85%
Congress vote14726

  Eduardo Frei Montalva headshot.jpg Luis Bossay.jpg
Candidate Eduardo Frei Montalva Luis Bossay
Party PDC Radical
Popular vote255,769192,077
Percentage20.70%15.55%

President before election

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
Independent

Elected President

Jorge Alessandri
Independent

Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1958. [1] The result was a victory for Jorge Alessandri, who ran as an independent. Allende's defeat has been commonly attributed to Antonio Zamorano, also known as "Cura de Catapilco", entering the race as a populist left-wing candidate and taking votes from Allende's electorate. [2] This explanation has been questioned by modern research that infers Zamorano took votes from across the political spectrum. [2] The "Catapilco" effect remains a trope in Chilean electoral discourse used to indicate a candidate that finishes third and is believed to have hindered the runner-up. [3]

Contents

Electoral system

The election was held using the absolute majority system, under which a candidate had to receive over 50% of the popular vote to be elected. If no candidate received over 50% of the vote, both houses of the National Congress would come together to vote on the two candidates that received the most votes. [4]

Results

CandidatePartyPopular voteCongress vote
Votes%Votes%
Jorge Alessandri Independent (LiberalConservative)389,90931.5614784.97
Salvador Allende Socialist Party 356,49328.852615.03
Eduardo Frei Montalva Christian Democratic Party 255,76920.70
Luis Bossay Radical Party 192,07715.55
Antonio Zamorano Independent41,3043.34
Total1,235,552100.00173100.00
Valid votes1,235,55298.8217392.51
Invalid/blank votes14,7981.18147.49
Total votes1,250,350100.00187100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,497,49383.5019297.40
Source: Nohlen, Chilean Electoral Database

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p262 ISBN   978-0-19-928358-3
  2. 1 2 Navia, Patricio; Soto Castro, Ignacia (2017). "El efecto de Antonio Zamorano, el Cura de Catapilco, en la derrota de Salvador Allende en la elección presidencial de 1958". Historia (in Spanish). 50 (1).
  3. Navia Lucero, Patricio; Díaz, Francisco Javier; Joignant Rondon, Roberto (2011). "Catapilco". Diccionario de la política chilena (in Spanish). Sudamericana. ISBN   9789562623834.
  4. Nohlen, p259