Brazil prepares for another month of political battle as run-off looms over second round of legislative elections This week, Costa Rica prepared to take a final run at the second round of its presidential election, as the battle moves to the capital city of San Jose.
Costa Rica’s second round of presidential election, scheduled for next Saturday, is the endgame for the country’s controversial reforms of its electoral system, following months of unrest over alleged irregularities and corruption.
The reforms were meant to clean up the country’s notoriously corrupt electoral system, but with Costa Rica’s popularity dwindling following the introduction of these reforms, the two main candidates—Ana Maria Hontiveros for Vice President and Sergio Sanchez for President—are now vying to be its next leader.
Although the two candidates are very different on a few key issues, they are also tied at the center of the country’s political landscape: Hontiveros, a former university professor, is currently the vice president in a governing coalition, while Sanchez, a former teacher and entrepreneur, currently leads the center-right government of President Laura Chinchilla.
In order to win the election, which is a two-party race between the two candidates, Hontiveros must win the support of the two conservative parties (the Costa Rican Workers’ Party, or PTC, and the National Party) as well as the center-left party (the Costa Rican Alliance, or PAC). These three parties represent roughly 70% of Costa Rica’s electorate, according to a recent survey by INEGI, but the other 30% of voters are spread across parties from all the ideological spectrum. The two main candidates’ appeal to these non-conservative voters is expected to give them the advantage in the second round of the vote. However, the winner of this election could still face political troubles.
As Hontiveros and Sanchez are tied with just two days to go, the main candidates
