With turnout rebounding and a clear result, the 2026 Costa Rica election was decided in one round. Learn how Laura Fernández won and why it mattered.
Laura Fernández, the hand-picked successor of outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves, won Costa Rica’s presidential election yesterday in the first round, as early results showed her clearing the 40 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Running for the ruling Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO), Fernández previously served as planning minister, chief of staff, and minister of the presidency under Chaves, placing her at the center of his government’s security and economic agenda.
Preliminary figures from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) put her at roughly 48–49 percent of the vote, well ahead of economist Álvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party (PLN), who finished second with around 31–33 percent and conceded on election night.
Ya ejercí mi voto 🇨🇷
Los invito a salir y vivir la maravillosa libertad de nuestro país, esa que voy a defender con todo.
Estamos listos para continuar construyendo una nueva Costa Rica, pensando en el bien de todos. #LauraFernandezPresidente pic.twitter.com/WQ3DbiCCnF— Laura Fernández Delgado (@laurapresi2026) February 1, 2026
Why This Result Fits Costa Rica’s Pattern
While Fernández’s first-round victory feels decisive, the broader outcome follows a familiar Costa Rican pattern. For more than three decades, voters have often given a governing political movement a second consecutive term by electing a successor candidate, even though presidents themselves cannot be re-elected immediately.
Since the mid-1990s, this has happened repeatedly. After the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) took power in 1998, it held the presidency again in 2002. The National Liberation Party (PLN) followed the same path in 2006 and 2010. The Citizens’ Action Party (PAC) did so in 2014 and 2018. Now, after the rise of the Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO) in 2022, Fernández’s victory gives that movement a second term as well.
In each case, Costa Rican voters changed direction, then allowed that new direction to run for a full eight years before shifting again. The 2026 election extends that cycle.
But what makes this moment different is not the continuity itself, but the clarity of the result. Three of the four elections before yesterday (2014, 2018, and 2022) went to a second round because no candidate reached the 40 percent threshold. This time, voters settled the question immediately, and they did so while also giving Fernández’s party a much stronger position in the Legislative Assembly.
Who is Laura Fernández?
Laura Fernández Delgado is a 39-year-old political scientist with a background in public policy and democratic governance. Her national profile grew during the administration of outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves. She first worked in the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy and was later appointed to lead that ministry in 2022. From there, she moved into two of the most senior roles in the executive branch, serving as chief of staff and then as minister of the presidency, which coordinates the government’s relationship with the Legislative Assembly.
Fernández ran as the candidate of the ruling Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO) with Chaves’s public backing. She will become Costa Rica’s second female president, after Laura Chinchilla (2010–2014).
Why Did She Win?
Public security was the central issue of the campaign, and Fernández ran on a hard-line platform in response to the sharp rise in drug-related violence and homicides linked to organized crime and cocaine trafficking.
Her proposals focus on expanding the powers of the executive branch in high-crime areas. She has said her government would declare states of emergency where necessary, allowing temporary suspension of certain constitutional guarantees to carry out large-scale police and security operations. She has also proposed creating fast-track judicial procedures to keep repeat and high-risk offenders in detention for longer periods.
Another key element of her platform is the construction of a new maximum-security prison modeled on facilities used in El Salvador, including the CECOT complex. Fernández has publicly praised the security approach of Nayib Bukele and has said Costa Rica should adapt similar measures to its own context.
Beyond policing, her platform includes judicial and institutional reforms aimed at speeding up prosecutions and limiting what her campaign describes as obstruction by courts and opposition parties. She has framed these changes as part of a broader transformation of the political system, which she refers to as a “third republic.”
These proposals have drawn strong support from voters concerned about crime, as well as criticism from legal experts, opposition parties, and human-rights organizations who warn about the potential impact on civil liberties and judicial independence.
Beyond Security
Outside of public security, Fernández has positioned her campaign around continuity with the current government’s economic and development approach.
She has pledged to maintain the existing macroeconomic framework, emphasizing fiscal discipline, economic growth, and foreign investment. Her platform supports keeping the Central Bank’s current exchange-rate system, in which the colón is allowed to move according to market conditions rather than being fixed or politically managed.
Infrastructure is another major pillar of her agenda. Fernández has outlined plans to expand and modernize ports, airports, highways, water systems, energy infrastructure, and digital connectivity. She has also spoken about opening parts of the electricity market, modernizing state institutions, and reducing what her campaign describes as bureaucratic obstacles.
In social policy, her program focuses less on expanding spending and more on efficiency and reform, including changes to public pensions and state-owned enterprises.
Criticism and Public Debate
Fernández’s platform and rhetoric have drawn strong criticism from opposition parties, legal experts, and human-rights advocates.
The sharpest concerns focus on her security proposals, which critics say resemble policies used in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele. They argue that mass detentions, states of emergency, and expanded executive powers could weaken civil liberties and judicial independence in a country that has historically emphasized constitutional protections.
Her broader calls for a “third republic” and “irreversible” institutional change have also raised alarms among those who fear an erosion of checks and balances, particularly if her party uses its expanded legislative presence to reshape courts and constitutional rules. Social policy positions have drawn additional scrutiny. Opponents point to conservative stances on issues such as abortion and environmental protections, as well as the influence of evangelical groups within her political coalition.
Supporters counter that these reforms are necessary to confront crime, institutional paralysis, and public frustration with traditional parties. The debate now centers on how far her government will go and how these proposals will be implemented in practice.
Election Turnout and Final Notes
The 2026 election also marked a rebound in voter participation. According to preliminary data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal cited by La República, abstention fell to about 30 percent, down from roughly 40 percent in the 2022 election. This places turnout back in line with levels seen in Costa Rica’s elections earlier in the last decade.
The TSE reported that 100 percent of polling tables operated normally, both inside and outside the country, and that the vote count proceeded without major incidents. With nearly all precincts reporting, Fernández’s lead was large enough to make a runoff mathematically unnecessary, bringing the presidential race to a close in a single round.
Final certification will follow the standard manual review process in the coming days, but the result is not expected to change. Fernández will take office on May 8, becoming Costa Rica’s 50th president and its second female head of state.
