Costa Rican general election, 2010
Encyclopedia
Costa Rica
held parliamentary and presidential elections on February 7, 2010. The ruling party before the election, the center-left National Liberation Party, put forward former Vice-President Laura Chinchilla as its presidential candidate, while the libertarian
, Movimiento Libertario
nominated former legislator Otto Guevara
. Opinion polls before voting started consistently put Chinchilla as the front-runner, a trend confirmed in the election-night count, which showed her garnering 46.76% of the vote.
The election was supervised by observers from several countries, as well as from the Organization of American States
. The incumbent President, Óscar Arias
, was ineligible to run for a second consecutive term.
Borge & Asociados for Diario Extra opinion poll January 2010: Chinchilla 38.7 %; Guevara 18.3 %; Solís 9.6 %; Fishman 3.7 %
Demoscopía for Al Día January 2010: Chinchilla 45.1 %; Guevara 30.1 %; Solís 9.5 %; Fishman 3.8 %
December 2009: Chinchilla 36.7 %; Guevara 16.2 %; Solís 8.5 %; Fishman 2.2 %
December 2009: Chinchilla 46.6 %; Guevara 19.5 %; Solís 8.3 %; Fishman 4.1 %
October 2009: Chinchilla 53.0 %; Guevara 15.7 %; Solís 12.3 %; Fishman 1.5 %
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....
held parliamentary and presidential elections on February 7, 2010. The ruling party before the election, the center-left National Liberation Party, put forward former Vice-President Laura Chinchilla as its presidential candidate, while the libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, 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...
nominated former legislator 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...
. Opinion polls before voting started consistently put Chinchilla as the front-runner, a trend confirmed in the election-night count, which showed her garnering 46.76% of the vote.
The election was supervised by observers from several countries, as well as from the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
. The incumbent President, Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010. He previously served as President from 1986 to 1990 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries.He is also a...
, was ineligible to run for a second consecutive term.
Presidential candidates
Candidates included:- Laura Chinchilla MirandaLaura Chinchilla MirandaLaura Chinchilla Miranda is a Costa Rican politician and the first female President of Costa Rica. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was the governing PLN candidate for President in the 2010 general election, where she won...
(ruling National Liberation Party, vice-president 2006-08) - Ottón SolísOttón SolísOttón 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...
(oppositional Citizens' Action PartyCitizens' Action PartyThe 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...
, candidate in 2006) - Otto GuevaraOtto GuevaraOtto 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 LibertarioMovimiento LibertarioThe 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...
, candidate in 2006) - Luis Fishman (conservative Social Christian Unity PartySocial Christian Unity PartyThe 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:...
, vice-president under Abel PachecoAbel PachecoAbel Pacheco de la Espriella was president of Costa Rica between 2002 and 2006, representing the Social Christian Unity Party ...
)
Opinion polling
CID-Gallup 24 January 2010: Chinchilla 43 %; Guevara 30 %; Solís 15 %; Fishman 8 %Borge & Asociados for Diario Extra opinion poll January 2010: Chinchilla 38.7 %; Guevara 18.3 %; Solís 9.6 %; Fishman 3.7 %
Demoscopía for Al Día January 2010: Chinchilla 45.1 %; Guevara 30.1 %; Solís 9.5 %; Fishman 3.8 %
December 2009: Chinchilla 36.7 %; Guevara 16.2 %; Solís 8.5 %; Fishman 2.2 %
December 2009: Chinchilla 46.6 %; Guevara 19.5 %; Solís 8.3 %; Fishman 4.1 %
October 2009: Chinchilla 53.0 %; Guevara 15.7 %; Solís 12.3 %; Fishman 1.5 %