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     - Photo via Partido Acción Ciudadana - |
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Published on Tuesday, February 8,
2022
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services The current president
Carlos Alvarado ruling party, Partido Acción
Ciudadana (PAC), which has been in power for
two terms, received less than 1% of support
in the General Elections.
According to the Elections Supreme Tribunal, as of Monday, the PAC, led by its candidate for president Welmer Ramos Gonzalez got 12,135 votes, which is less than 1% of the 1,827,043 counted votes. On the other hand, former president Jose Maria Figueres comfortably led the preliminary vote count in Sunday's Costa Rican presidential election, with former finance minister Rodrigo Chaves poised to defy expectations to face him in a second-round runoff, reported Voice of America Journal, VOA, which is the U.S. government news agency funded by the U.S. Congress. Figueres was seen winning 27.3% of the vote based on returns from nearly three-quarters of polling stations, with economist Chaves pulling past evangelical Christian Fabricio Alvarado to carve out an advantage in second with 16.6% of the tally. Chaves, a former World Bank official who has forged an anti-establishment reputation since running the finance ministry for about half a year under outgoing Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, had been running fourth in recent opinion polls. "Chaves has a liberal economic position, is socially conservative, pro-law and order and against the political class," said Rotsay Rosales, a political scientist and head of the National Policy Observatory of the University of Costa Rica. To win the first round outright, a candidate had to secure more than 40% of votes. The two leading contenders will face each other in a run-off on April 3. A total of 25 candidates were competing in the first round.
Chaves, who in the campaign
rejected accusations he had been censured for
sexual harassment earlier in his career, urged
Figueres to pursue a dignified discourse in the
runoff. "I have been attacked by few, but very
viciously. If I made a mistake, I apologize," he
told supporters.
Figueres, who governed from 1994 to 1998 under the centrist Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN), had been a slight favorite heading into the first round, according to opinion polls. All 57 seats of the national legislative assembly are also up for grabs. A divided legislature is likely, with local media forecasting Figueres' PLN would win the most seats with 19, but well short of a majority. Costa Ricans have said they want their next leader to tackle corruption and high unemployment rates during a four-year term. The electoral tribunal said voting went smoothly across the country and reported a preliminary turnout of about 60%. About a third of the voters in the Central American nation of about 5 million people had not made up their minds on whom to back ahead of the election, according to opinion polls. ---------------------------- Why did Costa Rica not support the government in the Presidential Election? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com Real
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