QCOSTARICA – In a little over a year, in February 2022, Costa Ricans will take to the polls to elect a new president.
General elections in Costa Rica are held every four years in accordance with the Constitution of Costa Rica. The President, together with two vice-presidents, and all 57 deputies of the Legislative Assembly are elected for a four-year term by the people.
Elections are held on the first Sunday in February, in 2022 it will be on February 6.
If none of the presidential nominees obtains at least 40% of the votes, a second electoral round will be called for Sunday, 3 April between the two most voted, as was the case in 2018, for the third time in history.
Presidential candidates looking to re-elected must skip one electoral cycle. For example, the current president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, cannot run for re-election in 2022, but can in 2026.
And although the 2022 election process has yet to officially commence, names have been popping of potential runners for president.
Several former candidates who participated in the process have already announced their interest in being candidates again. Among the: former president Jose Maria Figueres Olsen; past presidential candidates Jose Maria Villalta, Antonio Alvarez, Rolando Araya, and Fabricio Alvarado.
Other notables are the former mayor of Alajuela Roberto Thompson; legislator Ricardo Benavides; current vice-president, Ana Helena Chacon; current president of the Legislative Assembly, Eduardo Cruikshank; and president of the Caja, Roman Macaya, who on Thursday dismissed any presidential aspirations: ‘That is not in my future (…) I am not leaving any open door’.
Macaya, who has been one of the key figures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, could easily be a front runner for the start. See A day in Costa Rica in 2040
Whoever is elected president will take office on May 8, 2022.
La Republica has produced the following graphic to guide us through the process.
