1958 Venezuelan general election

General elections were held in Venezuela on 7 December 1958.^[1] They were the first elections held after the overthrow of military ruler Marcos Pérez Jiménez earlier that year, and only the second free regular elections in the country's history.

1958 Venezuelan general election

← 1947 7 December 1958 1963 →
Presidential election
Turnout	93.42%
Candidate Rómulo Betancourt Wolfgang Larrazábal Rafael Caldera Party Democratic Action URD–PCV Copei Popular vote 1,284,092 903,479 423,262 Percentage 49.18% 34.61% 16.21%
Results by state
President before election Edgar Sanabria Independent Elected President Rómulo Betancourt Democratic Action

The presidential elections were won by Rómulo Betancourt of Democratic Action, who received 49% of the vote,^[2][3] whilst his party won 73 of the 132 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 32 of the 51 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 93% in the presidential election and 92% in the Congressional elections.^[4]

The Soviet Union covertly supported Wolfgang Larrazábal, who had led the coup against Pérez Jiménez and briefly served as provisional president, in the elections.^[5]

Results

President

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Rómulo Betancourt	Democratic Action	1,284,092	49.18
	Wolfgang Larrazábal	URD–PCV–MENI	903,479	34.61
	Rafael Caldera	Copei–IR [es]–PST	423,262	16.21
Total			2,610,833	100.00
Valid votes			2,610,833	95.91
Invalid/blank votes			111,220	4.09
Total votes			2,722,053	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,913,801	93.42
Source: Nohlen

Congress

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Chamber	+/–	Senate	+/–
	Democratic Action	1,275,973	49.45	73	–10	32	–6
	Democratic Republican Union	690,357	26.76	34	+30	11	+10
	Copei	392,305	15.20	18	+2	6	+2
	Communist Party of Venezuela	160,791	6.23	7	+4	2	+1
	Republican Integration [es]	19,424	0.75	0	New	0	New
	Socialist Workers' Party	15,476	0.60	0	New	0	New
	Independent National Electoral Movement	14,908	0.58	0	New	0	New
	Socialist Party of Venezuela	10,983	0.43	0	0	0	0
Total		2,580,217	100.00	132	+22	51	+5
Valid votes		2,580,217	96.10
Invalid/blank votes		104,732	3.90
Total votes		2,684,949	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,913,801	92.15
Source: Nohlen