Costa Rican general election, 1998
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Costa Rica
on 1 February 1998. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
of the Social Christian Unity Party
won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 70%, the lowest since the 1950s.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
on 1 February 1998. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría is a Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman, and politician. He served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002 and was briefly Secretary General of the Organization of American States in 2004, before stepping down and returning to his country to face...
of the Social Christian Unity Party
Social Christian Unity Party
The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:...
won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 70%, the lowest since the 1950s.
President
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría is a Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman, and politician. He served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002 and was briefly Secretary General of the Organization of American States in 2004, before stepping down and returning to his country to face... |
Social Christian Unity Party Social Christian Unity Party The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:... |
652,160 | 47.0 |
| José Maria Corrales | National Liberation Party | 618,834 | 44.6 |
| Vladimir De la Cruz De Lemos | Democratic Force Democratic Force (Costa Rica) Democratic Force is a political party in Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1994 by Gerardo Trejos and other new left-wing Costa Rican leaders.... |
41,710 | 3.0 |
| Walter Muñoz Céspedes | National Integration Party National Integration Party (Costa Rica) The National Integration Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, in which it won a single seat, taken by Walter Muñoz Céspedes, who was also their candidate in the presidential election, where he finished fourth with 1.4%. However, the party... |
19,934 | 1.4 |
| Sherman Thomas Jackson | Costa Rican Renovation Party Costa Rican Renovation Party -History:Established in 1995, the party first participated in national elections in 1998, when its presidential candidate, Sherman Thomas Jackson received 1.4% of the vote, whilst they won a single seat in the parliamentary elections, taken by Justo Orozco.... |
19,313 | 1.4 |
| Álvaro González Espinoza | Democratic Party | 12,952 | 0.9 |
| Federico Malavassi Calvo | Movimiento Libertario Movimiento Libertario The Partido Movimiento Libertario is a political party based on classical liberalism in Costa Rica.It was founded in May 1994 and has since enjoyed a number of victories. It succeeded in getting attorney Otto Guevara elected to the Legislative Assembly in its first campaign in 1998... |
5,874 | 0.4 |
| Jorge González Martén | National Independent Party | 4,218 | 0.3 |
| Alejandro Madrigal Benavides | Christian National Alliance | 3,545 | 0.3 |
| Norma Vargas Duarte | United People United People (Costa Rica) United People is a left-wing political alliance, registered as a political party, in Costa Rica.The alliance was founded ahead of the 1978 elections by the Popular Vanguard Party , the Costa Rican Socialist Party and the Revolutionary Movement of the People , and won three seats. In 1982 it... |
3,075 | 0.2 |
| Rodrigo Gutiérrez Schwanhäuser | New Democratic Party | 3,025 | 0.2 |
| Yolanda Gutiérrez Ventura | Independent Party | 1,377 | 0.1 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 43,715 | ||
| Total | 1,431,913 | 100 | |
| Source: Nohlen | |||
Parliament
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Christian Unity Party Social Christian Unity Party The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:... |
569,792 | 41.2 | 27 | |
| National Liberation Party | 481,933 | 34.8 | 23 | |
| Democratic Force Democratic Force (Costa Rica) Democratic Force is a political party in Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1994 by Gerardo Trejos and other new left-wing Costa Rican leaders.... |
79,826 | 5.8 | 3 | |
| Movimiento Libertario Movimiento Libertario The Partido Movimiento Libertario is a political party based on classical liberalism in Costa Rica.It was founded in May 1994 and has since enjoyed a number of victories. It succeeded in getting attorney Otto Guevara elected to the Legislative Assembly in its first campaign in 1998... |
42,640 | 3.1 | 1 | New |
| National Integration Party National Integration Party (Costa Rica) The National Integration Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, in which it won a single seat, taken by Walter Muñoz Céspedes, who was also their candidate in the presidential election, where he finished fourth with 1.4%. However, the party... |
34,408 | 2.5 | 1 | New |
| Costa Rican Renovation Party Costa Rican Renovation Party -History:Established in 1995, the party first participated in national elections in 1998, when its presidential candidate, Sherman Thomas Jackson received 1.4% of the vote, whilst they won a single seat in the parliamentary elections, taken by Justo Orozco.... |
27,892 | 2.0 | 1 | New |
| Democratic Party | 17,060 | 1.2 | 0 | New |
| Agrarian Labour Action Party | 16,955 | 1.2 | 1 | |
| United People United People (Costa Rica) United People is a left-wing political alliance, registered as a political party, in Costa Rica.The alliance was founded ahead of the 1978 elections by the Popular Vanguard Party , the Costa Rican Socialist Party and the Revolutionary Movement of the People , and won three seats. In 1982 it... |
15,028 | 1.2 | 0 | New |
| National Independent Party | 12,794 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Generaleña Union | 12,583 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| New Democratic Party | 12,476 | 0.9 | 0 | New |
| National Rescue Party National Rescue Party The National Rescue Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, but received only 0.7% of the vote and failed to win a seat. In 2002 they received only 0.3% of the vote, whilst Pablo Angulo Casasola, the party's presidential candidate, finished... |
9,588 | 0.7 | 0 | New |
| Christian National Alliance | 9,176 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Cartago Agrarian Union Party Cartago Agrarian Union Party The Cartago Agrarian Union Party is a political party in Cartago, Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1969 by Juan Guillermo Brenes Castillo. It first contested a general election in 1970, but received only 0.5% of the vote and failed to win a seat. In 1974 support for the party more than doubled,... |
7,138 | 0.5 | 0 | |
| Partido Agrario Nacional | 7,497 | 0.5 | 0 | |
| Alajuelense Democratic Action Alajuelense Democratic Action Alajuelense Democratic Action is a political party in Costa Rica.The first general elections contested by the party were in 1982, when it won a single seat. However, it won only 0.3% of the vote at the 1986 elections and lost its seat. It did not contest the 1990 elections, but returned in 1994,... |
6,614 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Independent Party | 6,025 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Cambio Ya | 2,223 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Convergencia Nacional | 2,197 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Limonese Authentic Party Limonese Authentic Party The Limonese Authentic Party is a political party in Limón, Costa Rica. PAL was founded on 17 August 1976 by Marvin Wright Lindo, a radical trade union leader with links to groups such as Socialist Workers Organization and the Workers Party. It became a notable force amongst the banana plantation... |
2,167 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Cartago Agrarian Force | 1,892 | 0.1 | 0 | New |
| Independent Guanacaste Party Independent Guanacaste Party The Independent Guanacaste Party is a political party in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Its president is José Angel Jara Chavarría, and the General Secretary Luis Eduardo Arata Herrero.... |
1,623 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 47,052 | |||
| Total | 1,430,579 | 100 | 57 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||