1966 Guatemalan general election

General elections were held in Guatemala on 6 March 1966.^[1] After no candidate received 50% or more of the national vote, Julio César Méndez Montenegro was elected President by Congress on 5 May.^[2] In the Congressional elections, the Revolutionary Party won 28 of the 54 seats. Voter turnout was 56.27% in the presidential election and 55.01% in the Congressional elections. Despite historical odds he faced, left-of-centre Méndez, a former law professor who held the rank of civilian, would be successfully be elected and sworn in as President of Guatemala, which had at this point been long led by military government since its independence in 1847.^[3]

1966 Guatemalan general election

← 1958 6 March 1966 1970 →

Presidential election

Nominee Julio Méndez Juan Aguilar Party Revolutionary PID Running mate Clemente Marroquín Gustavo Mirón Porras Electoral vote 35 19 Popular vote 209,204 148,025 Percentage 44.78% 31.68

President before election Enrique Peralta Azurdia President-elect Julio Méndez Revolutionary

Results

President

Candidate		Party	Popular vote		Congress vote
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Julio César Méndez Montenegro	Revolutionary Party	209,204	44.78	35	64.81
	Juan de Dios Aguilar de León	Institutional Democratic Party	148,025	31.68	19	35.19
	Miguel Angel Ponciano	National Liberation Movement	109,981	23.54
Total			467,210	100.00	54	100.00
Valid votes			467,210	87.94	54	100.00
Invalid/blank votes			64,060	12.06	0	0.00
Total votes			531,270	100.00	54	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			944,170	56.27	55	98.18
Source: Nohlen, Dombrowski

Congress

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Revolutionary Party	192,366	44.07	29	+23
	Institutional Democratic Party	138,873	31.81	21	New
	National Liberation Movement	105,306	24.12	5	+5
Total		436,545	100.00	55	–11
Valid votes		436,545	84.05
Invalid/blank votes		82,848	15.95
Total votes		519,393	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		944,170	55.01
Source: Nohlen