Overview
- Voting takes place Sunday, Feb. 1, with polls open from 6:00 am local time for 12 hours and early results expected within hours.
- Multiple surveys place Laura Fernández near the 40% threshold needed to avoid a runoff and give her a lead of roughly 30 points over Álvaro Ramos.
- A CIEP/University of Costa Rica poll shows her at 30% support, far ahead of a crowded field of 19 other contenders.
- Surveys report high indecision, with estimates ranging from about one-third to roughly 45% of eligible voters, leaving the final outcome uncertain.
- Public security dominates the race as homicides reached 16.6 per 100,000 in 2024 and organized crime grows in parts of San José, Limón and Puntarenas, while Fernández backs Bukele-style measures including a maximum-security prison, longer sentences and emergency powers that critics say risk authoritarian overreach.