Polls open in Costa Rica as centre-right populists aim to extend mandate

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by By News AgenciesFebruary 1, 2026 at 01:39 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Costa Rica held general elections on February 1, 2026, as the center-right populist government sought to extend its mandate amid rising drug-fueled violence. Voters cast ballots for president and members of the Legislative Assembly. Laura Fernandez, President Rodrigo Chaves’s protege, is the frontrunner, hoping to win outright and avoid a runoff election on April 5. Her main rivals are centrist Alvaro Ramos and progressive Claudia Dobles. Fernandez has campaigned on continuing Chaves' security policies and seeks a supermajority in the Assembly to enact constitutional reforms, blaming congressional gridlock for hindering the current government's agenda. A significant portion of voters, particularly young adults in coastal provinces, remained undecided leading up to the election.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Limon 30% Puntarenas 30% Guanacaste 30% Carlos Alvarado 40% Claudia Dobles 50% Alvaro Ramos 50% Legislative Assembly ×260% Rodrigo Chaves ×270% Laura Fernandez ×390% Costa Rica ×2100%

Keywords

costa rica election 100% populist government 80% centre-right 70% legislative assembly 70% laura fernandez 60% drug-fuelled violence 60% rodrigo chaves 50% political party 40% constitutional reforms 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: 0.05

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

costa rica election populist government centre-right legislative assembly laura fernandez drug-fuelled violence rodrigo chaves political party constitutional reforms

Explore Full Topic Graph