Johnny Araya

A National Liberation Party ethics committee on Tuesday night ordered former Costa Rican presidential candidate Johnny Araya Monge to refrain from participating in any political activities for a period of four years, as a result of his decision to drop out of the presidential race on March 5.

The National Liberation Party’s (PLN) "non-candidate," Johnny Araya, left his home in Rohrmoser, a wealthy neighborhood west of San José, at 9:30 a.m. Sunday to begin Costa Rica's second-round Election Day.

Five days after being elected the presidential candidate of the ruling National Liberation Party, then-San José Mayor Johnny Araya flew to Panama in a private jet with Carlos Enrique Cerdas, the CEO of MECO construction, which has been awarded several public works projects, the weekly newspaper Semanario Universidad reported in its cover story on Wednesday.

The National Liberation Party candidate said that the proposed highway expansion would be publicly financed and not rely on a concession.