title: 1886 Costa Rican general election
text: # 1886 Costa Rican general election
  
  General elections were held in Costa Rica on 4 April 1886. After the death of Próspero Fernández Oreamuno in March 1885, Bernardo Soto Alfaro took over the presidency temporarily for the remainder of the term. Soto was a thirty-year-old young man who had to command the country in the war against Guatemala that sought to re-establish the Federal Republic of Central America. Soto was a freemason and liberal, belonging to "The Olympus", a group of liberal intellectuals who would have a great influence on Costa Rican politics and many would hold the Presidency of the Republic.
  
  Soto managed to prevent through various tricks the candidacy of Víctor Guardia Gutiérrez, brother of the late dictator Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez, becoming sole and unanimous candidate in a two-degree type of election in which all male citizens allowed by law choose second-degree electors who selected the President.
  
  ## Results
  
  In Alajuela there were 140 electors, but 145 voted.
  
  | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - |
  | Bernardo Soto Alfaro | 547 | 100.00 |
  | Total | 547 | 100.00 |
  | Registered voters/turnout | 542 | – |
  | Source: TSE |||
  
  ### By province
  
  | Province | Soto |
  | - | - |
  | San José Province | 168 |
  | Alajuela | 140 |
  | Cartago Province | 90 |
  | Heredia | 75 |
  | Guanacaste | 42 |
  | Puntarenas | 21 |
  | Limón | 6 |
  | Total | 542 |
  | Source: Salazar ||
  