Laura Fernández Wins Costa Rica Presidency in First-Round Victory
Conservative populist Laura Fernández won Costa Rica’s presidency in a first-round victory on Sunday, preliminary results showed on February 2, 2026. With 96.8 percent of votes tallied, she secured 48.3 percent to surpass the 40 percent requirement, her main challenger Álvaro Ramos taking 33.4 percent before conceding. The win allows Fernández to continue the policies of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, who backed her candidacy.
Fernández previously served as Chaves’ minister of national planning and economic policy and most recently as minister of the presidency, which positioned her as the frontrunner in a contest that centered on sustaining his outsider approach to politics. Chaves had defeated traditional parties in 2022 by portraying them as corrupt and self-interested at a time of elevated unemployment and fiscal deficits, according to an NPR assessment of the ongoing political reorientation. Ramos, who placed second, conceded Sunday night while pledging to lead a constructive opposition, noting that “In democracy dissent is allowed, criticizing is allowed.”
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported the preliminary figures based on ballots from 96.8 percent of polling places and will not issue a formal declaration until a manual count begins Tuesday. Roughly 3.7 million Costa Ricans were eligible to vote in the presidential race and the simultaneous balloting for the 57-seat National Assembly, where only Fernández and Ramos exceeded 5 percent support among 20 contenders. The first-round threshold of 40 percent spared the country a runoff that many had anticipated in the crowded field.
Rising crime ranked among the election’s most prominent issues after years of increasing violence tied to narcotrafficking. An OSAC report placed Costa Rica’s homicide rate at 17.2 per 100,000 residents in 2023, when the country recorded a record 907 killings, while Statista data indicated a rate of around 16.8 in 2025. Although some voters blamed the Chaves administration for failing to reverse the trend, many others regarded his confrontational methods as the most viable response, a perspective that Fernández adopted throughout her campaign.
Economic indicators offered a mixed picture that echoed conditions from Chaves’ earlier victory. World Bank figures show GDP growth reaching 4.6 percent in 2025, accompanied by an unemployment rate that fell to 6.3 percent by the final quarter. The OECD projected the central government budget deficit at 3.3 percent of GDP for 2025, underscoring persistent fiscal challenges that continued to shape voter sentiment.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the president-elect in a statement issued Monday. “Under her leadership, we are confident Costa Rica will continue to advance shared priorities to include combatting narco-trafficking, ending illegal immigration to the United States, promoting cybersecurity and secure telecommunications, and strengthening economic ties,” Rubio said. The remarks signaled alignment on regional security and economic cooperation as Fernández prepares to assume office.
Projections indicated the Sovereign People’s Party would expand its representation in the National Assembly without attaining the supermajority sought to control appointments such as Supreme Court magistrates. Fernández emphasized the need for unity in her first comments as president-elect on Monday. “I hope that we can immediately lower the flags of whichever political party and start working only in favor of the Costa Rican flag,” she said, adding that “I believe the Costa Rican people expect nothing less of us.”
