Elections

A special Coast Guard mission will give officials in Costa Rica's most remote territory a chance to vote Election Day. Cocos Island -- located more than 30 hours by boat off the Pacific coast -- has 28 Environment Ministry officials living on and monitoring the protected, uninhabited island.

Costa Rica now faces what would have been an unthinkable proposition a year ago – a new political party taking over the government.

According to a polling analyst in the U.S., the daily La Nación’s canceled UNIMER poll likely would have been the most useful survey for accurately predicting the election – the exact opposite of what the daily told its readers.

“These results confirm that with the organization and the size of PLN, we are guaranteed a triumph in the first round,” Johnny Araya's campaign manager said. But is that what the poll showed?

San José and 12 other cantons have a dry law on the books that would prevent liquor sales during upcoming presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 2, the National Union of Local Governments declared Thursday afternoon. However, San José authorities told CRHoy that the law is tedious and seems unnecessary, and they likely won't enforce it.

[INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC] Explore how pollsters in Costa Rica stacked up during President Laura Chinchilla's election in 2010.

Finance Minister Edgar Ayales announced Wednesday that Costa Rica’s deficit reached 5.4 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2013, 1 percent higher than during 2012.

With much of the attention focused on the five top-polling presidential candidates in Costa Rica’s upcoming Feb. 2 elections, you might have missed that there are eight more. Not to worry, here’s your rundown on all 13 candidates. Get to know them before you vote!

The four highest polling candidates have all stated they would expand benefits to gay couples such as property rights, though none have advocated true legalization. Johnny Araya, José María Villalta, Otto Guevara and Luis Guillermo Solís have said they support inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, and access to social security and medical benefits. The candidates varied on the emphasis and extent of their proposals.

Johnny Araya of the ruling National Liberation Party is the leading presidential hopeful among registered voters who have made up their minds, according to the latest poll from the University of Costa Rica’s Center for Research and Policy Studies (CIEP). But he's a long way from avoiding a runoff. However, the "Undecided" option remains the top choice in the poll.