Jose Maria Figueres, the National Liberation Party (PLN, center-left) presidential candidate – he was already head of state from 1994 to 1998 – and the conservative evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado Munios. committee in Costa Rica, where presidential elections were held yesterday Sunday.
Mr Figueres is said to have garnered 29% of the vote, while Mr Alvarado has 17% or so, according to figures released by the commission with almost a quarter of the polls incorporated.
None of the 25 candidates (a record number) running for the presidency were expected to secure more than 40% of the vote and win in the first round. If the first results are verified, Messrs. Figueres and Alvarado will face off in the crucial second round of elections on April 3rd.
According to opinion polls, Mr. Figueres is considered to have a slight lead in view of the second round.
Mr. Alvarado, the candidate of the New Pentecostal Party of the New Democracy, was the unlucky candidate in the 2018 elections in the Latin American state.
In yesterday’s elections, the 57 seats of the parliament were also judged.
Costa Ricans say they want the next president to fight corruption and high unemployment.
Earlier yesterday, the election commission assured that the process was going smoothly. Early figures suggest the turnout was just over 55%.
The small Central American country, known for its stability, quality of life and natural wealth and attracting millions of foreign tourists each year before the new coronavirus pandemic broke out, has been facing an acute economic crisis in recent years, which has worsened. the pandemic, and unprecedented scale corruption scandals.
Unemployment, rising for more than a decade, hit 14.4% in 2021, declining slightly compared to 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak.
Last year, 23% of citizens lived below the poverty line; public debt reached 70% of GDP.
Ministers, former ministers and mayors were also involved in two corruption cases last year involving embezzlement and bribery of multimillion-dollar public works contracts. The scandals dealt a severe blow to the credibility and reputation of politicians in Costa Rica. The outgoing center-left government of President Carlos Alvarado has a record of unpopularity (72%).
President Alvarado’s Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) did not exceed 1% of the vote, according to a poll by the Center for Research and Political Studies. His candidate for the presidency won only 0.3% of the vote, according to other polls.
The next government and the next parliament will be invited, among other things, to negotiate the terms of the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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