1966 Costa Rican general election

General elections were held in Costa Rica on 6 February 1966.^[1] José Joaquín Trejos Fernández of the National Unification Party won the presidential election, whilst the National Liberation Party won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 81%.^[2]

1966 Costa Rican general election

← 1962 6 February 1966 1970 →
Presidential election
Turnout	81.40% ( 0.53pp)
Nominee José Joaquín Trejos Daniel Oduber Party UN PLN Popular vote 222,810 218,590 Percentage 50.48% 49.52%
Results by canton
President before election Francisco Orlich PLN Elected President José Joaquín Trejos UN
Legislative election
All 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly 29 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PLN Daniel Oduber Quirós 48.93 29 0 UN José Joaquín Trejos Fernández 43.16 26 New UCR Frank Marshall Jiménez 5.48 2 New This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by province

Ballot paper

These were very divisive elections as they had only two candidates.^[3] On one hand the government party PLN nominated the Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Oduber Quirós, whilst all the right-wing opposition joined forces and former enemies Rafael Calderón and his National Republican Party (Social Christian) merged with Otilio Ulate’s National Union (Liberal-Conservative) in the National Unification Party. Calderón and Ulate were enemies during the 1948 Civil War but put aside their differences and they agree that none of them will be candidate.^[3]

The National Unification Party look forward a “neutral” candidate that could unified the opposition and college professor and economist José Joaquín Trejos was selected.^[3] Trejos had never hold a public office before.^[3]

Left-wing opposition was outlawed as the Legislative Assembly made effective the article 98 of Costa Rica's Constitution at the time that forbid Communist parties, making illegal the only party at the left of PLN, the Popular Democratic Action (PADA) led by Manuel Mora.

The campaign was particularly ideological, as the two candidates were basically encompassing the only Right-Left options and were defenders of two very different ideologies; Oduber (and PLN) abide to democratic socialism and Trejos was conservative. The debate centered on both opposing philosophies; Trejos accused PLN of statism and been smothering the private enterprise, whilst Oduber accused Trejos of being supported by the richest of the rich and trying to bring down Costa Rica's social justice and labor laws.^[3]

In one of the most hard-fought elections in Costa Rica's history, Trejos won by a small difference of around 2000 votes (one of Costa Rica's slightest differences between two candidates),^[3] though PLN kept its parliamentary majority (thus many of Trejos’ reforms did not passed). Far-right Revolutionary Civic Union Party won two seats in Parliament. The results were accepted by all sides and many historians seem this election as the evidence that the dark times of civil unrest and conflict after electoral processes that end in the Civil War were put behind for good.^[3]

Results

President

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	José Joaquín Trejos Fernández	National Unification Party	222,810	50.48
	Daniel Oduber Quirós	National Liberation Party	218,590	49.52
Total			441,400	100.00
Valid votes			441,400	97.77
Invalid votes			6,265	1.39
Blank votes			3,825	0.85
Total votes			451,490	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			554,627	81.40
Source: Election Resources

By province

Province	Trejos %	Oduber %
San José	49.7	50.3
Alajuela	51.4	48.9
Cartago	48.6	51.4
Heredia	51.2	48.8
Puntarenas	55.7	44.3
Limón	54.7	45.3
Guanacaste	48.0	52.0
Total	50.5	49.5

Parliament

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	National Liberation Party	202,891	48.93	29	0
	National Unification Party	178,953	43.16	26	New
	Revolutionary Civic Union	22,721	5.48	2	New
	Democratic Party	8,543	2.06	0	New
	Guanacastecan Republican Party	1,529	0.37	0	New
Total		414,637	100.00	57	0
Valid votes		414,637	91.84
Invalid votes		28,748	6.37
Blank votes		8,090	1.79
Total votes		451,475	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		554,627	81.40
Source: Election Resources

By province

Province	PLN		UN		UCR		PD		PRG
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
San José	49.4	10	42.3	9	7.2	2	1.1	0	-	-
Alajuela	49.2	5	44.6	5	3.1	0	3.1	0	-	-
Cartago	49.7	4	39.5	3	5.4	0	5.4	0	-	-
Heredia	49.0	2	46.1	1	2.8	0	2.0	0	-	-
Puntarenas	44.2	3	50.5	4	4.1	0	1.3	0	-	-
Limón	44.5	2	44.4	1	7.8	0	3.4	0	-	-
Guanacaste	51.5	3	38.8	3	5.5	0	0.3	0	3.9	0
Total	48.9	29	43.2	26	5.5	2	2.1	0	0.4	0

Local governments

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Alderpeople	+/–	Municipal syndics	+/–
	National Liberation Party	207,876	49.32	152	4	202	–78
	National Unification Party	195,092	46.29	140	New	132	New
	Revolutionary Civic Union	13,918	3.30	1	New	0	New
	Democratic Party	2,809	0.67	0	New	0	New
	Guanacastecan Republican Party	1,335	0.32	0	New	0	New
	Palmarenean Democratic Front	451	0.11	0	New	0	New
Total		421,481	100.00	293	+18	334	+10
Valid votes		421,481	93.39
Invalid/blank votes		29,846	6.61
Total votes		451,327	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		554,627	81.37
Source: TSE[4]

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p155 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
2. Nohlen, p156
3. Hernández Naranjo, Gerardo. "Reseña de las elecciones presidenciales de 1966" (PDF). Proyecto Atlas Electoral de Costa Rica 1953–2006 (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "Elecciones Regidurías 1966". tse.go.cr (in Spanish). Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. Retrieved 21 May 2020.