Candidates for the Presidency of Costa Rica expose their programs | News

Costa Rica continues in its calendar in the elections for the Presidency of the Country when last Wednesday the fourth National Debate concluded, organized in four days, where the last applicants of a total of 25 were able to present the points of their future Government agendas.

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The more than eight hours of debates spread over four dates were organized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in the country. Among the topics of exchange were corruption and the nation's economy.

Scheduled for next February 6, this campaign has a record number of applicants, which predicts that none will reach 40 percent of the total votes needed, so the two with the largest number of voters will be opponents in the ballot of the April 3.

The TSE issued a resolution last Tuesday, January 11, where it interpreted the scope of the health isolation orders for Covid-19, in relation to the right to vote.

After the unanimous vote of the magistrates of the electoral body, it was clarified that, despite having a health isolation order for Covid-19, "it is not an impediment to voting, nor is having symptoms suggestive of that disease."

The electoral body based the measure on its constitutional competence in electoral matters and on the basis that the right to vote is a political right that can only be suspended when a jurisdictional body so decides.

The Central American nation reported 3,816 cases of Covid-19 on the last day, according to the Ministry of Health. Likewise, it records 604,658 cases of covid-19 and 7,401 deaths since the beginning of the health crisis.

The candidates with the most intention to vote

On the fourth day of debate were former deputy Natalia Díaz (Unidos Podemos), deputy Walter Muñoz (National Integration Party), lawyer Rodolfo Piza (Our People Party) and former president José María Figueres (National Liberation).

In addition, the former Minister of Agriculture, Óscar Campos (National Encounter), the trade unionist Jhonn Vega Masis (Party of the Workers) and the deputy José María Villalta (Front Broad).

Figueres was president between 1994 and 1998 and is a Social Democrat who aspires to be re-elected. According to a survey published in December 2021 by the Center for Research and Political Studies of the State University of Costa Rica (CIEP-UCR), the former head of state leads the polls with 17.2 percent of the vote.

Following on the list is the candidate for the Christian Social Unity Party, the Vice President and Minister of the Presidency and Planning, Lineth Saborío, with 15.1 percent. Saborío plans to reach agreements on educational reform, and family and school connectivity. In addition, it will seek to make government processes transparent, comply with a legal system and generate public-private partnerships.

In third place is the former deputy and leader of the New Republic Party, Fabricio Alvarado, who with 15.1 percent of the votes in the polls advocates an open government, a review of the influence of drug trafficking in politics, as well as such as the intervention of conflictive communities with institutions that protect families.

The rest of the 22 candidates did not exceed 10 percent in voting intention. In addition, 40.5 percent of those surveyed were still undecided, something that could vary as the campaigns intensify a few days before the elections.