Ex-presidential candidate and former San José Mayor Johnny Araya Monge on Wednesday evening said he will not seek to become the National Liberation Party’s candidate to lead San José’s Municipality next year.
Johnny Araya, the National Liberation Party’s disgraced former presidential candidate and former long-term mayor of Costa Rica's capital, denied recent rumors that he had meetings with leaders from the Accessibility Without Exclusion Party to run for mayor next year.
The ban means former presidential candidate Johnny Araya can't run for mayor of San José next year. He also can't continue to serve as an adviser to his party's 18 lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly.
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.
At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Judicial Investigation Police agents raided the home of Jorge Sibaja Rodríguez, a lawyer and member of the ruling Citizen Action Party. Police are investigating Sibaja's alleged use of forged documents to commit fraud against the Costa Rican Social Security System, or Caja, in April.
Easily surpassing his goal of 1 million votes Sunday night, President-elect Luis Guillermo Solís has claimed a mandate to govern, but the realities of running a government still loom, analysts said on Monday.
