Following the suspension of presidential candidate Johnny Araya’s campaign, the National Liberation Party has wasted little time in interring his name with his bones. The new social media campaign for the April 6 election makes no mention of Araya, and instead hopes to attract votes using the slogan “Orgullo Liberacionista” or “Liberation Pride.”
Continuing an artful dodge of accountable campaigning, the National Liberation Party's Johnny Araya planned a “thank you” tour to meet and embrace supporters. He had to cancel when critics pointed out that traveling the country, meeting with party regulars and thanking them for their support sounded vaguely like what political scientists call a campaign.
Following the surprise suspension of his presidential campaign, it must be admitted that from the beginning Johnny Araya had unique hurdles to overcome as a National Liberation Party candidate. The early frontrunner in this campaign, he nonetheless was burdened with the history that no Costa Rican party has won the presidential election for a third consecutive term.
On Wednesday, ruling National Liberation Party presidential candidate Johnny Araya bowed out of the campaign leading up to an April 6 runoff. In so doing, he became the first presidential candidate in Costa Rica's history to make it to a second round only to end his campaign before the vote. Here's his concession speech.
At 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, the National Liberation Party's Johnny Araya made history by becoming the first presidential candidate to drop out of a presidential runoff race in Costa Rica.
