Costa Rican general election, 2002
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Costa Rica
on 3 February 2002. For the first time in the country's history, no candidate in the presidential election passed the 40% threshold. This meant a second round of voting had to be held on 7 April, which saw Abel Pacheco
of the Social Christian Unity Party
defeat the National Liberation Party's Rolando Araya Monge
.
The parliamentary election was also fragmented owing to the emergence of a well-supported third party (the Citizens' Action Party
), breaking the two-party mould of previous elections. The Social Christian Unity Party emerged as the largest party, but held only 19 of the 57 seats, nine fewer than the previous lowest since the number of seats was raised to 57 in the 1960s. The result did not favour Pacheco, affecting his ability to govern and forcing him to seek alliances and consensus to get legislation approved.
Despite the close contest, voter turnout was only 68.8% on 3 February, the lowest since the 1958 elections
. For the second round of the presidential elections it fell to 60.2%, the lowest since 1949
.
to run in local elections, using electronic voting machines, allowing Costa Ricans living abroad to vote, and allowing voters to choose the top two places on parliamentary lists. However, the changes were rejected by the Legislative Assembly
, which noted that independent candidature was incompatible with the constitution, and that electronic voting could not be guaranteed to be secure or transparent.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
on 3 February 2002. For the first time in the country's history, no candidate in the presidential election passed the 40% threshold. This meant a second round of voting had to be held on 7 April, which saw Abel Pacheco
Abel Pacheco
Abel Pacheco de la Espriella was president of Costa Rica between 2002 and 2006, representing the Social Christian Unity Party ...
of the Social Christian Unity Party
Social Christian Unity Party
The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:...
defeat the National Liberation Party's Rolando Araya Monge
Rolando Araya Monge
Rolando Araya Monge is a Costa Rican socialist politician. He is a nephew of former president Luis Alberto Monge.- Biography :...
.
The parliamentary election was also fragmented owing to the emergence of a well-supported third party (the Citizens' Action Party
Citizens' Action Party
The Citizen's Action Party is a left-leaning political party in Costa Rica.Its platform is based on encouraging citizen participation and involvement in politics. One of its guiding ideals is to fight against corruption, arguing that it is one of the main causes of subdevelopment and voter apathy...
), breaking the two-party mould of previous elections. The Social Christian Unity Party emerged as the largest party, but held only 19 of the 57 seats, nine fewer than the previous lowest since the number of seats was raised to 57 in the 1960s. The result did not favour Pacheco, affecting his ability to govern and forcing him to seek alliances and consensus to get legislation approved.
Despite the close contest, voter turnout was only 68.8% on 3 February, the lowest since the 1958 elections
Costa Rican general election, 1958
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 2 February 1958. Mario Echandi Jiménez of the National Unity Party won the presidential election, whilst the National Liberation Party won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 64.7%.-President:...
. For the second round of the presidential elections it fell to 60.2%, the lowest since 1949
Costa Rican general election, 1949
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 4 October 1949. They followed the introduction of a new constitution after the Costa Rican Civil War. Voters elected a Vice-President General elections were held in Costa Rica on 4 October 1949. They followed the introduction of a new constitution after...
.
Background
Before the election, the country's Supreme Electoral Tribinal attempted to make several reforms to the electoral system. These included allowing independentsIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
to run in local elections, using electronic voting machines, allowing Costa Ricans living abroad to vote, and allowing voters to choose the top two places on parliamentary lists. However, the changes were rejected by the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
The Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Costa Rica. The national congress building is located in the city capital, San José, specifically in El Carmen District in San José Canton.-Composition:...
, which noted that independent candidature was incompatible with the constitution, and that electronic voting could not be guaranteed to be secure or transparent.
President
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Abel Pacheco Abel Pacheco Abel Pacheco de la Espriella was president of Costa Rica between 2002 and 2006, representing the Social Christian Unity Party ... |
Social Christian Unity Party Social Christian Unity Party The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:... |
590,277 | 38.6 | 776,278 | 58.0 |
| Rolando Araya Monge Rolando Araya Monge Rolando Araya Monge is a Costa Rican socialist politician. He is a nephew of former president Luis Alberto Monge.- Biography :... |
National Liberation Party | 475,030 | 31.1 | 563,202 | 42.0 |
| Ottón Solís Ottón Solís Ottón Solís Fallas is a Costa Rica politician. He graduated with a BEcons from the University of Costa Rica in 1976 and gained a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Manchester in 1978... |
Citizens' Action Party Citizens' Action Party The Citizen's Action Party is a left-leaning political party in Costa Rica.Its platform is based on encouraging citizen participation and involvement in politics. One of its guiding ideals is to fight against corruption, arguing that it is one of the main causes of subdevelopment and voter apathy... |
400,681 | 26.2 | ||
| Otto Guevara Otto Guevara Otto Guevara Guth is a politician in Costa Rica and founder of the Partido Movimiento Libertario . He served in the Costa Rican legislature from 1998-2006... |
Movimiento Libertario Movimiento Libertario The Partido Movimiento Libertario is a political party based on classical liberalism in Costa Rica.It was founded in May 1994 and has since enjoyed a number of victories. It succeeded in getting attorney Otto Guevara elected to the Legislative Assembly in its first campaign in 1998... |
25,815 | 1.7 | ||
| Justo Orozco Álvarez | Costa Rican Renovation Party Costa Rican Renovation Party -History:Established in 1995, the party first participated in national elections in 1998, when its presidential candidate, Sherman Thomas Jackson received 1.4% of the vote, whilst they won a single seat in the parliamentary elections, taken by Justo Orozco.... |
16,404 | 1.1 | ||
| Walter Muñoz Céspedes | National Integration Party National Integration Party (Costa Rica) The National Integration Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, in which it won a single seat, taken by Walter Muñoz Céspedes, who was also their candidate in the presidential election, where he finished fourth with 1.4%. However, the party... |
6,235 | 0.4 | ||
| Vladimir De la Cruz De Lemos | Democratic Force Democratic Force (Costa Rica) Democratic Force is a political party in Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1994 by Gerardo Trejos and other new left-wing Costa Rican leaders.... |
4,121 | 0.3 | ||
| Walter Coto Molina | Coalition Change 2000 Coalition Change 2000 Coalition Change 2000 was a political alliance in Costa Rica formed by the Alajuelense Democratic Action and United People.In the 2002 elections it failed to win a seat, whilst its candidate in the presidential election, Walter Coto Molina received only 0.2% of the vote. The coalition has since... |
3,970 | 0.2 | ||
| Rolando Angulo Zeledón | General Union | 2,655 | 0.2 | ||
| Daniel Reynolds Vargas | Patriótico Nacional | 1,680 | 0.1 | ||
| Marvin Calvo Montoya | Christian National Alliance | 1,271 | 0.1 | ||
| Pablo Angulo Casasola | National Rescue Party National Rescue Party The National Rescue Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, but received only 0.7% of the vote and failed to win a seat. In 2002 they received only 0.3% of the vote, whilst Pablo Angulo Casasola, the party's presidential candidate, finished... |
905 | 0.0 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 39,573 | ||||
| 33,463 | |||||
| Total | 1,569,418 | 100 | 1,372,943 | 100 | |
| Source: Nohlen | |||||
Parliament
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Christian Unity Party Social Christian Unity Party The Social Christian Unity Party is a political party in Costa Rica.PUSC considers itself a Christian Democratic Party and, as such, is a member of the Centrist Democrat International.-2002 election:... |
453,201 | 29.8 | 19 | |
| National Liberation Party | 412,383 | 27.1 | 17 | |
| Citizens' Action Party Citizens' Action Party The Citizen's Action Party is a left-leaning political party in Costa Rica.Its platform is based on encouraging citizen participation and involvement in politics. One of its guiding ideals is to fight against corruption, arguing that it is one of the main causes of subdevelopment and voter apathy... |
334,162 | 22.0 | 14 | New |
| Movimiento Libertario Movimiento Libertario The Partido Movimiento Libertario is a political party based on classical liberalism in Costa Rica.It was founded in May 1994 and has since enjoyed a number of victories. It succeeded in getting attorney Otto Guevara elected to the Legislative Assembly in its first campaign in 1998... |
142,152 | 9.3 | 6 | |
| Costa Rican Renovation Party Costa Rican Renovation Party -History:Established in 1995, the party first participated in national elections in 1998, when its presidential candidate, Sherman Thomas Jackson received 1.4% of the vote, whilst they won a single seat in the parliamentary elections, taken by Justo Orozco.... |
54,699 | 3.6 | 1 | 0 |
| Democratic Force Democratic Force (Costa Rica) Democratic Force is a political party in Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1994 by Gerardo Trejos and other new left-wing Costa Rican leaders.... |
30,172 | 2.0 | 0 | |
| National Integration Party National Integration Party (Costa Rica) The National Integration Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, in which it won a single seat, taken by Walter Muñoz Céspedes, who was also their candidate in the presidential election, where he finished fourth with 1.4%. However, the party... |
26,084 | 1.7 | 0 | |
| Coalition Change 2000 Coalition Change 2000 Coalition Change 2000 was a political alliance in Costa Rica formed by the Alajuelense Democratic Action and United People.In the 2002 elections it failed to win a seat, whilst its candidate in the presidential election, Walter Coto Molina received only 0.2% of the vote. The coalition has since... |
12,992 | 0.8 | 0 | New |
| Agrarian Labour Action Party | 10,890 | 0.7 | 0 | |
| Independiente Obrero | 8,044 | 0.5 | 0 | New |
| Patriótico Nacional | 7,123 | 0.5 | 0 | New |
| Cartago Agrarian Union Party Cartago Agrarian Union Party The Cartago Agrarian Union Party is a political party in Cartago, Costa Rica.The party was founded in 1969 by Juan Guillermo Brenes Castillo. It first contested a general election in 1970, but received only 0.5% of the vote and failed to win a seat. In 1974 support for the party more than doubled,... |
6,974 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian National Alliance | 6,825 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| General Union | 5,883 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| National Rescue Party National Rescue Party The National Rescue Party is a political party in Costa Rica.The party first contested general elections in 1998, but received only 0.7% of the vote and failed to win a seat. In 2002 they received only 0.3% of the vote, whilst Pablo Angulo Casasola, the party's presidential candidate, finished... |
4,937 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Partido Agrario Nacional | 2,595 | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Cartago Agrarian Force | 1,390 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Convergencia Nacional | 1,348 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 47,484 | |||
| Total | 1,569,338 | 100 | 57 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||