Costa Rica will have Presidential Elections on February 4, 2018. For this election there are 3,322,329 registered voters of which 50.18% are female and 49.82% are male.
Who is running for President ?
In this election we have 13 presidential candidates. Among them you have 7 lawyers, 3 journalists and a doctor. They each represent the following 13 political parties.
ADC – A Christian Democratic Party represented by current congressional legislator Mario Redondo Poveda.
PASE – This is the people with disabilities party which currently has one seat in the legislature and is represented by Oscar Lopez Arias.
FA – This is the Frente Amplio party which which is a socialist ideology and represents the far left
PIN – The Partido de Integracion Nacional was never really an active contender in Costa Rican politics until Attorney Juan Diego Castro Fernandez became its presidential candidate. Often dubbed the “Tico Trump” for his combative style he is currently tied in first place in the polls.
PLN – The Partido de Liberacion Nacional has been involved in Costa Rican politics since it was founded after the revolution of 1948 by Jose Figueres. The current candidate Antonio Alvarez Desanti is a long time politician and part of the wealthty Costa Rican elite. The party ideology has been social democrat.
PNG – The Partido Nueva Generacion led by Attorney Sergio Mena Diaz is political movement that has been around for only 5 years and which did well in the local municipal elections winning a couple of mayoral spots. It caters to younger voters with a message of economic development and job creation for the young.
PRN – The Partido de Restauracion Nacional headed by current congressional deputy Gerardo Alvarado Muñoz. The party is an Evangelical Christian movement.
PSRC – The Partido Social Cristiano Republicano is break away faction of the traditional social christian party the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC). A dispute between the followers of former President Rafael Angel Calderon within the PUSC forced them out and they formed the PSRC. The candidate is Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez Gomez a medical doctor who headed the Costa Rica Children’s Hospital for many years. He is the co-founder of the party along with former president Rafael Angel Calderon.
PAC – The Partido Accion Ciudadana (Citizen Action Party) was a grass roots political movement that was born due to the public distrust of the two main political parties at the time the PLN and the PUSC. The PAC was able to win the past presidential elections with Luis Guillermo Solis and expectations were high that he would bring about changes. His current approval rating is 37% up from a low of 12% . The current candidate Carlos Alvarado is the former Minister of Labor. The political ideology leans towards the left having made alliances with the Frente Amplio, Costa Rica’s far left political party.
PDLTR – The Partido de los Trabajadores (People’s Worker’s Party) is of communist Trotskyism ideology. The candidate Jhonn Vega Masis is 32 years old and a public school teacher.
PUSC – The Partido Unidad Social Cristiana is one of the traditional political parties of Costa Rica that almost disappeared due to corruptions scandals involving their former Presidents, Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Rafael Angel Calderon. Several years have passed and it does seem that time heals all wounds because the party has been making a comeback. They currently have 8 seats in the congress. The candidate Rodolfo Piza Rocafort is a respected constitutional lawyer and one of the top contenders in this election.
ML – Movimiento Libertario is the Costa Rica version of the Libertarian Party advocating less government. The party currently has 3 seats in congress. The candidate Otto Guevara Guth is a current legislator who has been the presidential candidate on four previous occasions.
PRC – The Partido Renovacion Costarricense is another Evangelical Christian political party. The candidate Stephanie Campos Arrieta is a journalist.
Below are the names of the Presidential candidates along with their selection of their running mates for Vice-President and Second Vice-President.
During this election the voters will also pick the legislature representatives as well. In that election we have over TWENTY political parties to choose from below. Costa Rican’s have traditionally split the vote by voting for one party for president and another party as legislative representative.
