Presidential elections were held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on 4 September 1958. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p262 The result was a victory for

Jorge Alessandri Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 27th President of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador All ...

, 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. This explanation has been questioned by modern research that infers Zamorano took votes from across the political spectrum. 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.

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.Nohlen, p259

Results

References

{{Chilean elections Presidential elections in Chile

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...