Álvaro Ramos Chaves

Rule Changes

Runner-up with 33.4%; PLN holds 17 legislative seats

Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 and built Latin America's most stable democracy. On February 1, 2026, voters elected Laura Fernández Delgado of the Pueblo Soberano Party (PPSO) with 48.53%, the first first-round win since 2010. Her party took 31 of 57 legislative seats, a simple-majority mandate to fight drug violence that has pushed homicides to record highs.

Updated Oct 17