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Multiparty political system in Costa Rica

With a multiparty political system and regular rotations of power via credible elections, Costa Rica has a long record of democratic stability. Freedoms of association and expression are robust. The rule of law is strong in general, although presidents have often been implicated in corruption scandals. Among other enduring concerns, violence linked to drug trafficking and organized crime is mounting sharply.

Electoral Process

The president is directly elected for a four-year term and can’t seek a consecutive second term, but is free to seek a nonconsecutive second term. Presidential candidates need to mandatorily win 40 percent of the vote to evade a runoff. In the year 2022, Rodrigo Chaves Robles of the center-right Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD) was elected president, winning 53 percent of the vote in the runoff election to defeat former president José MaríaFigueres belonging to the National Liberation Party (PLN). Both rounds of voting registered a low voter turnout.

Elections for the 57-seat unicameral Legislative Assembly are held every four years. Deputies, elected by proportional representation are barred from running for two consecutive terms, but after skipping a term they can run again. No party got a majority in the 2022 general elections, which saw the National Liberation Party (PLN) become the largest party in the legislature by winning 19 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD), which won 10. Four other parties got entry in the legislature with fewer than 10 seats each.

Elections are administered by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), independent national election commission appointed by a special chamber of the Supreme Court. The TSE performs its functions very impartially, and the electoral framework is reasonable.

Political ParticipationandPluralism

People don’t face any undue obstacles and have the right to organize in different political parties. The dominance of the National Liberation Party (PLN) and the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) has diminished in recent years as new parties have gained traction, causing the collapse of the traditional two-party system. Both the New Republic Party (PNR), established in 2018, and the Liberal Progressive Party (PLP), established in 2016, won legislative representation for the very first time in the elections held in the year 2022. During those elections, 25 parties offered a presidential candidate on the ballot, an all-time record. Realistic opportunity is very much available to opposition parties to increase their support or gain power through elections. Power frequently alternates in Costa Rica, and opposition parties vie for victory fiercely in presidential and legislative elections.

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