Costa Rica: Political Parties & Elections

Costa Rica has long been regarded as one of Latin America's most stable democracies, a reputation built in part on a competitive multiparty system and a tradition of peaceful transfers of power. For much of the late twentieth century, two parties, the National Liberation Party (PLN) and the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), alternated in government, but their combined dominance began to erode in the early 2000s as voters grew more willing to support alternatives.

Presidential and legislative elections are held simultaneously every four years, allowing citizens to split their votes between different parties for the presidency and the Legislative Assembly. A presidential candidate must win more than forty percent of the vote to avoid a runoff against the second-place finisher. Elections are administered by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, an independent body that functions as a fourth branch of government alongside the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and whose rulings on electoral matters are not subject to further appeal.

The fragmentation that began with the rise of the Citizen Action Party in the early 2000s has continued into recent years, with newer parties such as the Liberal Progressive Party and the New Republic Party winning legislative seats for the first time in 2022. That year's presidential contest drew a record twenty-five registered candidates, reflecting both the openness of the political system and the declining hold of the country's once-dominant parties over the electorate.