The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – A week before the election, the candidate Luis Guillermo Solís was only the fourth applicant with “some” chance of getting into contention for a second round in Costa Rica. This Sunday he confirmed his place in the race for the presidency in the next vote.
The candidate of the PAC created big surprise in the Costa Rican presidential and legislative elections by overcoming the favorite in the vote, the ruling Johnny Araya, of the National Liberation Party (PLN).
With 88% of the tables scrutinized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Solis reaches 30.98%, while Araya, center candidate, won 29.57%.
Since no candidate won the 40% needed to be proclaimed president, and Araya Solis will face a runoff election scheduled for April 6.
The electoral victory of the PAC is historic as it breaks the monopoly for 32 years held by the PLN and the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) as the only winners of the presidential elections in Costa Rica, a stage that is known as the “bipartisanship”.
Since the start of the election campaign, Araya always remained the undisputed first by a large margin, with Frente Amplio as his main competition.
The picture changed a few days before the election, when the latest survey from the University of Costa Rica realized that Solis had grown significantly in the last week. The measurement also left open a great deal of uncertainty, because a third of likely voters were undecided.
This “silent” voters went to the polls on Sunday without showing their support, without carrying flags, and ended up turning the tables in the election.
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica