1886 Costa Rican general election

none Costa Rica Flag of Costa Rica (1848-1906).svg 1882 Costa Rican general election 1882 1889 Costa Rican general election 1889 21–23 February 1886 (popular vote)4 April 1886 (electoral college) yes Presidential election presidential 542 members of the Electoral College 272 Bernardo Alfaro.jpg 165 108 150 55 42 Bernardo Soto Alfaro Independent politician 547 100% President Bernardo Soto Alfaro Independent Bernardo Soto Alfaro Independent yes Legislative election 1884 1888 16 of the 29 seats in the Constitutional Congress yes yes Independent politician 16 0 Elecciones legislativas de Costa Rica de 1886 - Diputados por Provincia.svg Results by province General elections were held in Costa Rica on 21–23 February 1886 to elect the president and half of the Constitutional Congress. Incumbent president Bernardo Soto, who had assumed office in 1885 as First Designate following the unexpected death of Próspero Fernández, was elected to a full constitutional term.Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica Historia de las elecciones presidenciales 1824–2014 2017 https://www.tse.go.cr/pdf/ifed/historia_electoral.pdf These were the last general elections held before the emergence of organized political parties in Costa Rica and the last won by a military officer. Background The 1882 general election had resulted in the uncontested victory of the government-backed candidate, General Próspero Fernández Oreamuno, who was the brother-in-law of President Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez. Guardia had ruled under an unconstitutional regime since 11 September 1877. Shortly before his death in June 1882, he issued a decree restoring the 1871 Constitution with several reforms, including the abolition of the death penalty, a measure proposed by First Lady Emilia Solórzano Alfaro. The reinstated constitutional framework required the election of national authorities for the 1882–1886 term. President Fernández presided over a liberal and strongly anti-clerical administration. During his tenure, Congress enacted a broad secularization agenda that transferred responsibilities traditionally held by the Catholic Church since the colonial period—such as public education, civil registration, and cemetery administration—to the state. These policies generated significant opposition among conservative sectors and ecclesiastical authorities. Tensions culminated on 18 July 1884, when Fernández, together with Secretary of the Interior Bernardo Soto Alfaro, signed a decree expelling Bishop Bernhard August Thiel from the country. The decree also ordered the expulsion of priests belonging to the Society of Jesus. Fernández and Soto, both liberals and Freemasons associated with the Olympus Generation of intellectuals, justified these measures by accusing the clergy of excessive interference in political affairs, education, and state-led secularization policies, including those affecting cemeteries and church lands. The decree stated that there was "a clear tendency to overrule the State in its highest functions."El primer intento de entrada de los jesuitas a Costa Rica (1872) y el inicio de la controversia entre el Dr. Lorenzo Montúfar y el P. León Tornero, S.I Editorial UCR 2011 1st San José 67-71 Spanish Soto Alfaro had been appointed by Congress as First Designate to the Presidency in June 1883. Following the sudden death of President Fernández in Atenas on 12 March 1885, Bernardo Soto assumed the presidency for the remainder of the constitutional term and announced his intention to seek election in his own right. At the time, Soto was 30 years old and faced the challenge of leading the country during the War of Reunification initiated by Guatemalan president Justo Rufino Barrios, who sought to re-establish the Federal Republic of Central America.Molina Iván Elecciones y democracia en Costa Rica, 1885-1913 European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 70 41–57 http://www.cedla.uva.nl/50_publications/pdf/revista/70RevistaEuropea/70_IvanMolina.pdf 2018-12-20 2019-05-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20190502173816/http://www.cedla.uva.nl/50_publications/pdf/revista/70RevistaEuropea/70_IvanMolina.pdf dead The conflict, which began on 28 February 1885, placed significant political and military demands on Soto’s nascent administration and shaped the broader context of the ensuing electoral process. Electoral system The election was conducted under the electoral law of 20 June 1870 with modifications enacted through a congressional decree on 16 June 1885. Under this framework, control of the electoral process was concentrated in the Executive Branch, particularly in the president and the Secretary of the Interior and Police. Provincial electoral boards were appointed by the executive and presided over by the respective provincial governors. These boards oversaw the vote count and appointed cantonal boards, which were chaired by the political chiefs and, in turn, designated district boards responsible for compiling voter registers.Salazar Mora Orlando Salazar Mora Jorge Mario Los partidos políticos en Costa Rica: 1889–2010 Editorial UNED 2010 1st San José 12–13 Spanish The electoral process followed a two-stage system of indirect voting. In the first stage, eligible male citizens voted publicly to select second-degree electors. In the second stage, these electors chose the president by secret ballot. Eligibility to serve as an elector generally required property ownership and literacy, which meant that electors were drawn primarily from wealthier sectors and the middle class.Calvo Gamboa Carlos Rafael Iglesias Castro 1980 85 Spanish The same body of electors also selected the deputies to the Constitutional Congress for four-year terms. Electoral assemblies were held in the capital city of each province and were presided over by the provincial governor, who was appointed by the president.Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica Historia de las elecciones presidenciales 1824–2014 2017 https://www.tse.go.cr/pdf/ifed/historia_electoral.pdf Campaign The election was initially expected to be contested between two factions within Costa Rica’s liberal movement: the ruling Olympus faction, represented by Bernardo Soto Alfaro, and an opposition liberal faction. Following Fernández’s death, Soto put forward his candidacy to continue in office for the 1886–1890 term. Potential opposition coalesced around General Víctor Guardia Gutiérrez es, the uncle by marriage of Soto’s wife and the brother of former president Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez. However, Soto’s government employed a range of coercive measures that ultimately prevented Guardia’s candidacy from fully developing. According to contemporary accounts and later memoirs, Guardia’s supporters were harassed and persecuted, with several reportedly detained or exiled to remote regions such as Sarapiquí and Talamanca. Press repression also accompanied these actions. F. B. Campuzano, editor of the newspaper El Nacional, which had supported Guardia’s candidacy since its founding in February 1884, was arrested, imprisoned for a month, and held incommunicado before being transferred to San Lucas Island. His offices were searched, and his papers were seized in an effort to uncover evidence against Guardia.Guardia Gutiérrez Víctor Memorias del general don Víctor Guardia San José 56-57 In his memoirs, Guardia recalled being warned by an unnamed minister in Soto’s government that continued resistance could result in imprisonment under fabricated charges. According to Guardia, the minister advised him that Soto was determined to retain power “without pausing to consider the means,” and that a secret investigation was allegedly underway to implicate him in a conspiracy. Amid mounting pressure and in an effort to halt the persecution of his associates, Guardia published a manifesto in El Nacional announcing his withdrawal from the race. In it, he cited the lack of electoral guarantees, expressed gratitude to his supporters, and declared his willingness to accept the outcome of the election.Guardia Gutiérrez Víctor Memorias del general don Víctor Guardia San José 57 Following Soto's inauguration, Thiel and the religious orders were permitted to return in May 1886. Results In Alajuela there were 140 electors, but 145 voted. Among the 16 deputies elected to the Constitutional Congress were Andrés Venegas García (San José), José María Soto Alfaro (Alajuela), Máximo Fernández Alvarado (Alajuela) and Manuel de Jesús Jiménez Oreamuno (Cartago).Girón Beckles Jessica 2004 El proceso electoral costarricense de 1886: elementos fácticos y normativos https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/juridicas/article/viewFile/13346/12616 Revista de Ciencias Jurídicas 103 122 Electoral Collegefirst round Electoral Collegesecond round Bernardo Soto Alfaro Independent 542 547 TSE Second round results by province Province Soto San José Province 168 Alajuela 140 Cartago Province 90 Heredia 75 Guanacaste 42 Puntarenas 21 Limón 6 Total 542Source: SalazarSalazar, O. (2003) El apogeo de la República Liberal en Costa Rica, 1870-1914, p 177 9977-67-131-1 Constitutional Congress File:Costa Rica Constitutional Congress 1886.svg Won Total Independent 16 29 Álvares & Girón Constituency Independent % Seats San José 5 Alajuela 5 Cartago 3 Heredia 1 Guanacaste 0 Puntarenas 1 Limón 1 Total 16Source: Álvares & Girón References Category:Parliamentary elections in Costa Rica Costa Category:Single-candidate elections General Category:Presidential elections in Costa Rica Category:April 1886 in North America