General elections were held in Costa Rica on 4 April 1886.[1] 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.[2]
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.[2]
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San José Province
Alajuela
Cartago Province
Heredia
Guanacaste
Puntarenas
Limón