1958 Chilean presidential election

1958 Chilean presidential election

4 September 1958
Turnout	83.50%
Candidate Jorge Alessandri Salvador Allende Party Independent Socialist Alliance Liberal–Conservative FRAP Popular vote 389,909 356,493 Percentage 31.56% 28.85% Congress vote 147 26   Candidate Eduardo Frei Montalva Luis Bossay Party PDC Radical Popular vote 255,769 192,077 Percentage 20.70% 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]

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

Candidate		Party	Popular vote		Congress vote
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Jorge Alessandri	Independent (Liberal–Conservative)	389,909	31.56	147	84.97
	Salvador Allende	Socialist Party	356,493	28.85	26	15.03
	Eduardo Frei Montalva	Christian Democratic Party	255,769	20.70
	Luis Bossay	Radical Party	192,077	15.55
	Antonio Zamorano	Independent	41,304	3.34
Total			1,235,552	100.00	173	100.00
Valid votes			1,235,552	98.82	173	92.51
Invalid/blank votes			14,798	1.18	14	7.49
Total votes			1,250,350	100.00	187	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,497,493	83.50	192	97.40
Source: Nohlen, Chilean Electoral Database

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p262 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
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