No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeElections 20141 million votes or not, Luis Guillermo Solís urges supporters to get...

1 million votes or not, Luis Guillermo Solís urges supporters to get out and vote

Swarmed by cameras, reporters and supporters, presidential frontrunner Luis Guillermo Solís of the opposition Citizen Action Party (PAC) arrived at the Liceo de Curridabat, east of the capital, Sunday morning to cast his vote for Costa Rica’s next president.

Vuvuzelas sounded and red-and-yellow flags waved outside as the historian and son of a shoemaker – who turns 56 on April 25 – marked his ballot in a simple blue-walled school room.

“Don’t kill me with love yet, there’s still much to do!” Solís told supporters. The PAC candidate is running almost unopposed after his second-round rival, Johnny Araya of the ruling National Liberation Party, stopped campaigning in a surprise decision on March 5.

Solís urged citizens to cast their ballots amid reports of low turnout at the polls early Sunday, seeming to roll back his pledge to garner 1 million votes to shore up his popular mandate.

“I’m not worried about getting a million votes or not. In a democracy you win with one vote,” he said. “I’m asking that those who haven’t voted, and it seems there are many according to my reports, to go and vote quickly in the coming hours. When the polling stations close at 6 this afternoon, we want the ballot boxes full of votes, full of hope.”

As recently as Saturday morning, Solís said he was confident he could accomplish the million-vote goal he set after Araya suspended his campaign last month.

The Supreme Elections Tribunal reported that 31.8 percent of voters stayed home for the Feb. 2 first round vote and suggested that the abstention rate could be higher Sunday, based on results from the last runoff in 2002.

Jeffery Navarro, a voter outside the school, told The Tico Times he came out to vote mostly out of a sense of civic duty. “Not every country has the right to vote,” he said.

Solís “is a break with traditional, normal politics. He’s closer to the people, to whom we are, the people who walk the streets, not those with bodyguards. We hope he doesn’t change his attitude,” Navarro said.

The candidate will await the results of the vote in Plaza Roosevelt in San Pedro, in eastern San José, on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Alberto Font/The Tico Times
Alberto Font/The Tico Times

Trending Now

Hondurans March to Mark 2009 Coup as Election Battle Heats Up

Thousands of government supporters marched Saturday in the capital of Honduras to commemorate the anniversary of the 2009 coup that ousted then-leftist President Manuel...

Costa Rica’s Pride March 2025 Defies Restrictions and Celebrates Diversity

A large crowd gathered in Paseo Colón, San José, to participate in the LGBTIQ+ Pride March 2025. It began at noon, as people marched...

U.S. – Guatemala Security Pact Targets Crime and Helps Returning Migrants

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem signed a border security cooperation agreement with Guatemala on Thursday, which includes the use of drones and...

2025 Gold Cup: Honduras Advances After Dramatic Shootout, Mexico Ends Goal Drought

Honduras, with a surprising and dramatic penalty shootout victory over Panama, and Mexico, with a lackluster win against Saudi Arabia, advanced Saturday to the...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

A Costa Rica Love Story: From Rustic Cabina to Separate Dreams

My Tica wife and I have been together for over a quarter century. When we met, I was living a simple life here. Three...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica