A run-off election will be conducted on April 3 in Costa Rica after a close first round was won by former president José María Figueres, followed by Economist Rodrigo Chaves, who pulled the biggest surprise of these elections.
According to Costa Rica’s Electoral Authority (TSE), 87.7% of the votes has been counted so far and Figueres, former president between 1994 and 1998, garnered 27.3% of the votes, while Chaves has 16.7%. The evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado adds 14.8%.
59.3 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots while 40.7% of the registered voters did not vote.
Costa Rica will need a runoff to decide on the president for the third time in a row.
The election in Costa Rica closed recently after a 12-hour exercise that the authorities described as hitch-free.
In the elections, in which a record number of 25 candidates vied for president, 3.5 million people were called to vote to elect the president and the 57 deputies that make up the Legislative Assembly for the period 2022-2026.
As highlighted by the OAS Electoral Observer Mission, during the day there was order and confidence among the voters in the country’s electoral process and they received no reports of irregularities.
Election day went calmly with no situation of violence. The TSE reported that every voting table opened without problems and added that the 80 that were placed in consulates of 42 countries was placed so Costa Ricans abroad could participate.
