General elections were held in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

on 2 February 1958.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p155

Mario Echandi Jiménez Mario José Echandi Jiménez (17 June 1915 – 30 July 2011) was the 33rd President of Costa Rica, serving from 1958 to 1962. As diplomat Mario Echandi was a career diplomat. Prior to his election, he had served as Costa Rica's ambassador to ...

of the National Union Party won the presidential election, whilst the National Liberation Party won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 64.7%.Nohlen, p156 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 been

Calderonista Calderonism or ''Calderonismo'' is a political and ideological doctrine of Costa Rica, which emerged in the 1940s under the leadership of caudillo Dr. Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, before, during and after he was president with his National R ...

and been offered an office as minister from Calderón. Echandi denied it but was put under investigation by the Legislative Assembly. The opposition, encompassed by both Echandi's party National Union and Calderón's Independent Republican left the Assembly in protest. 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 Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

) 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. But, whilst PLN's opposition was closing lines, PLN was splitting. After a

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

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. As expected, Rossi's departure and his new party caused a

spoiler effect Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. Vote spl ...

dividing the

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

vote and Echandi won the election with the support of Calderonists. Echandi did fulfill his promise and allowed Calderón and family to return and passed a general amnesty for all factions.

Results

President

By province

By canton

Parliament

By province

By canton

Local governments

References

{{Costa Rican elections

Costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Elections in Costa Rica