Ruling party (Partido Liberiación Nacional -PLN) presidential candidate Johnny Araya fell in the polls and the left wing, led by Jose Maria Villalta, of the Frente Ampio Party, went up and reached a virtual technical tie, according to a survey published Wednesday in Costa Rica.
The survey, by the Political Studies and Investigation Centre of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) said that for the Feb. 2 election, Araya was leading in voter intentions with 17.4 %, but the Frente Amplio candidate, Jose Maria Villalta, was right behind him, with 15.7 %.
A Unimer poll the week before had similar results, the candidates running neck and neck with Villalta in the lead. See our report Yellow (Villalta) In the Lead For The Presidency
The margin of error for the UCR poll 3.89%, and as no one can show who will statistically make a difference, a technical tie was declared.
The survey was conducted from November 11 to 29, and confirms a previous study, putting Otto Guevara, a candidate for the Movimiento Libertario, in third place with 10.4% of voter intention, and Luis Guillermo Solis (Partido Accion Cuidadana, 5.1 %) in fourth, while Social Christian Union Party (PUSC) candidate Rodolfo Piza was in fifth (3.1 %).
