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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
- ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p262 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
- ^ a b 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).
- ^ Navia Lucero, Patricio; Díaz, Francisco Javier; Joignant Rondon, Roberto (2011). "Catapilco". Diccionario de la política chilena (in Spanish). Sudamericana. ISBN 9789562623834.
- ^ Nohlen, p259
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