SAN JOSE (Reuters) – Costa Rica has officially started the presidential election process on February 6, 2022, which aims to be voting with the largest number of candidates in the country’s history and for those who have not yet been elected. An obvious favourite, given the large number of hesitators.
If confirmed, the 25 or so applicants to succeed Carlos Alvarado would represent twice the number registered in the 2018 vote, making a second round likely in April, according to polls.
SEC spokesperson, Gustavo Roman, said Wednesday in a formal procedure to hold the process of selecting the president and the legislature.
Alvarado’s replacement will rule between May 2022 and 2026, coinciding with the upcoming conference, which about fifty parties aspire to reach between those of a national scale and those of the country’s seven provinces, which have a population of 5.1 million.
The exact size of the applicants and groups will be known after October 22, when the candidates are officially registered, but authorities and analysts agree it reflects the trend of a political split after decades of bipartisanship.
A survey published on August 31 by the Center for Research and Policy Studies at the University of Costa Rica revealed that 53% of respondents had not decided to vote until then.
17% chose the traditional National Liberation Party (PLN, Social Democratic) candidate, former President Jose Maria Figueres, and 4% for former Economy Minister Wilmer Ramos of the ruling Citizen Action Party (PAC, centre-left) the rest divided among the other applicants.
The start of the electoral process comes at a time of tension between the government and the Legislative Council due to the embodiment of the suspended measures to comply with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund aimed at reducing the financial crisis exacerbated by the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic.
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Editing by Raul Cortes Fernandez)
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