Costa Rica: Runoff presidential elections April 1 /update 3

Event

The campaign period ahead of the upcoming second round of presidential elections came to an end on Sunday, March 25. The vote will be held throughout Costa Rica on Sunday, April 1. Both candidates held final rallies in the capital San José over the weekend, which occurred without incident. The first round of voting, held on February 4, also occurred without major incident and similar circumstances are expected during the run-off.

Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz of the conservative National Restoration Party will face off against Carlos Alvarado Quesada (no relation) of the ruling Citizen Action Party. The results are expected to be very close. Alvarado Muñoz is an evangelic Christian and one of his main campaign platforms has been to bar gay marriage in the country and other progressive policies introduced by the center-left government of current president Luis Guillermo Solis.

Political rallies and protests (e.g. in favor of gay rights and abortion rights), as well as associated traffic disruptions, are possible following the election results. Political violence is unlikely

Advice

Individuals in Costa Rica are advised to monitor developments to the situation and avoid all demonstrations and polling stations as a precaution.