At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Costa Rica

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda
• Head of Government: President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda
• Assembly: Costa Rica has a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) with 57 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by a qualified majority vote of 40 percent to serve a 4-year term. Presidents are allowed to serve non-consecutive terms.

Election Notes:

• The first round of this presidential election was held on February 2, 2014. Luis Guillermo SOLÍS Rivera received the most votes with 30.64% (629,866 votes). Having not reached the threshold of 40% to avoid a second round, SOLÍS will now face runner-up candidate Johnny Francisco ARAYA Monge, who received 29.71% of the vote (610,634 votes) in the first round, in a runoff election on April 6. On March 5, 2014, ARAYA ended his presidential campaign, citing low polling numbers (a March 5, 2014 poll from Seminario Universidad showed ARAYA trailing SOLÍS by 43 percentage points). According to the Costa Rican constitution, the run-off election will still occur on April 6 as candidates are not allowed to drop out, despite ARAYA’s decision to stop campaigning.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Johnny Francisco ARAYA Monge
  • National Liberation Party / Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN)
• Luis Guillermo SOLÍS Rivera
  • Citizens’ Action Party / Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,757,606 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 3,078,321 (2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,376,679 (2014)

·         Is Costa Rica a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Costa Rica ratified CEDAW: Yes (4 April 1986)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 19 (following 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 69 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Costa Rica a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Costa Rica ratified CRPD: Yes (1 October 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 713,640 (est.)