The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and his cabinet, and the President of Costa Rica is both the head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the Legislative Assembly. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for four-year terms. The judiciary operates independent of the executive and the legislature but remains involved in the political process. Costa Rica is a republic with a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Voting is compulsory in Costa Rica but it is not enforced.
Antonio Álvarez Desanti is a Costa Rican politician, lawyer and businessman who has served twice as President of the Legislative Assembly. He was National Liberation Party candidate for the national elections of February, 2018.
Johnny Francisco Araya Monge is a Costa Rican politician. He was the mayor of the country's capital San José from 1998 to 2001 and again since 2003. He was also the Co-President of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) from 2010 to 2013. He is a member of the National Liberation Party (PLN) and was presidential candidate in the 2014 election.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 5 February 1978. Rodrigo Carazo Odio of the Unity Coalition won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 81%.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 2 February 1986. Óscar Arias of the National Liberation Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 81.8%.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 4 February 1990. Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier of the Social Christian Unity Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 81.8%.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 6 February 1994. José María Figueres of the National Liberation Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 81.1%.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 1 February 1998. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez of the Social Christian Unity Party won the presidential election, whilst his party also won the parliamentary election. Voter turnout was 70%, the lowest since the 1950s.
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.
Costa Rica held parliamentary and presidential elections on Sunday, 2 February 2014 to elect a new president, two vice presidents, and 57 Legislative Assembly lawmakers. Voting is compulsory in Costa Rica, nevertheless abstentionism was 35 percent in 2006 and 32 percent in 2010. In accordance with Article 132 of the Constitution, the incumbent President, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, was ineligible to run for a second consecutive term.
Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera is a Costa Rican educator and politician who was the President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the center-left Citizens' Action Party (PAC). Solís led the field in the 2014 presidential election, and won the presidency in a landslide election, earning more votes than any presidential candidate in the history of the nation. Solís has a long academic and political career, culminating in his election as the first President of Costa Rica to be a member of the PAC.
Elizabeth Bernardita Fonseca Corrales was a deputy in the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2010, representing San José. Fonseca holds a doctorate in History and American Society from the University of Paris. She was president of the Citizens' Action Party in 2010.
Gloria Valerín Rodríguez is a Costa Rican lawyer, former deputy, vice-presidential candidate, and director of technical services for the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. Valerín is a feminist and human rights campaigner.
A primary election was held among the members of Costa Rica’s then ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) on June 7, 2009 in order to choose the PLN’s nominee for presidency in the 2010 general election. The two main candidates for the nomination were then vice-president Laura Chinchilla and San José Mayor Johnny Araya. Former security minister Fernando Berrocal also ran a basically testimonial candidacy. PLN’s main rival party, PAC, ran its own convention a month before.
Costa Rica's National Liberation Party presidential primary is a primary election programmed for April 2nd, 2017 in order to choose the party's presidential nominee for the Costa Rican general election, 2018. PLN is currently the main opposition party to Luis Guillermo Solís' government. In case no candidate reaches the 40% of the votes a second round will be held on June among the two more voted candidates. Something that hasn't ever happen before.
The Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) presidential primary of 2017 or Social Christian National Convention as is known in Spanish is an electoral process for the selection of the party's presidential candidate for the Costa Rican general election, 2018 and was scheduled for June 4, 2017.
The 2001 presidential primary of the Social Christian Unity Party of Costa Rica was held on June 10, 2001 as part of the Costa Rican general election, 2002.
Rodolfo Piza Rocafort is a Costa Rican politician and lawyer. He served as executive president of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund during the administration of Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (PUSC), and later served as justice of the Supreme Court of Justice.
