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A primary election was held for the first time among the members of Costa Rica’s Citizens’ Action Party (PAC), known as the Citizens' National Convention (Convención Nacional Ciudadana) for the selection of the party's candidate in the 2010 general election. [2] This was a closed primary, as potential electors were required to register before the election up till April 30, 2009. [2]
A primary election is the process by which voters, either the general public or members of a political party, can indicate their preference for a candidate in an upcoming general election or by-election, thus narrowing the field of candidates.
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 5 million in a land area of 51,060 square kilometers. An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José with around 2 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The Citizens' Action Party is a center-left political party in Costa Rica.
PAC is one of Costa Rica’s major parties and was for this time the main oppositional political force, but unlike other major parties, has never until then held a primary for the nomination of the party’s candidate, [3] as previous candidate Ottón Solís was chosen by the party’s National Assembly for the 2002 and 2006 general elections and was regarded as almost indisputable party leader (and de facto Leader of the Opposition). [4]
A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. It should not be confused with majority party.
Ottón Solís Fallas is a Costa Rican politician. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Costa Rica in 1976 and gained a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Manchester in 1978. He is currently serving his second term as deputy, was a founding member of the Citizens' Action Party, and ran as its three-time presidential candidate. As an academic, he has taught at several universities in the United States and Costa Rica.
After negotiations with other party members interested in the nomination, most noticeable former deputy and vice-president nominee Epsy Campbell [5] [6] and businessman and scientist Román Macaya, [7] the Convention’s date was established in May 31 of that year.
Epsy Campbell Barr is a Costa Rican politician and economist who has been the First Vice-President of Costa Rica since 8 May 2018. She is Costa Rica’s first woman of African descent to become vice president, and the second female vice president of African descent in the Americas following Viola Burnham.
Román Macaya Hayes is a Costa Rican entrepreneur, biochemist, and politician. He is most known for his adamant opposition to the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement. He was a presidential pre-candidate for the Citizens' Action Party. He was Costa Rican ambassador in Washington, D.C. between 2014 and 2018 and later Executive President of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund.
Several debates among PAC and PLN's candidate were organized in different colleges, NGOs and news networks. In PAC's case the most noticeable were May 17 in Repretel Canal 6, May 24 in Teletica Canal 7 and May 28 in government’s own Canal 13, three of Costa Rica’s main television channels. [8]
Canal 6 is a private Costa Rican television channel, owned and operated by Repretel. It is the flagship TV station of the media group.
Canal 7 is a private Costa Rican television channel, owned and operated by Teletica's founders, the Picado family. It was the first television station in Costa Rica.
Canal 13 is a public Costa Rican television channel, owned and operated by Sistema Nacional de Radio y Television S.A. (SINART).
The polls were open from 6 am to 8 pm [1] and although 67.170 were registered to vote only 22.450 did so. The results was a landslide victory for Solís achieving over 71% of the votes. Campbell received 18% and Macaya 9%. [1]
A landslide victory is an electoral victory in a political system, when one candidate or party receives an overwhelming supermajority of the votes or seats in the elected body, thus utterly eliminating the opponents. The winning party has reached more voters than usual, and a landslide victory is often seen in hindsight as a turning point in people's views on political matters.
