General elections were held in Costa Rica on 3 February 2002.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p155 For the first time in the country's history, no candidate in the presidential election passed the 40% threshold.Nohlen, p. 150. This meant a second round of voting had to be held on 7 April which saw Abel Pacheco of the Social Christian Unity Party defeat the National Liberation Party's Rolando Araya Monge.
Many analysts consider this election the beginning of the end of Costa Rica's decades-long two party system. For the first time in many years alternative political forces become relevant in the Parliament and the plenary had three large party groups; PUSC (19), PLN (17) and PAC (14).
While PUSC won the presidential election and the majority in Congress, PLN became the primal opposition force in Parliament. Centre-left PAC with a progressive platform seemed to have gravely affected traditional third forces at the left of the spectrum like Democratic Force, which failed to win any seat on that election. The right-wing Libertarian Movement also increased its representation from one to six deputies while the conservative Costa Rican Renewal Party retained its one seat.
It was the first time in Costa Rica an evangelical Christian party, the Christian National Alliance, nominated a Catholic, biologist and professor Marvin Calvo Montoya, as its presidential candidate. It was also the last presidential election of the Christian National Alliance.
Despite the close contest, voter turnout was only 69% on 3 February, the lowest since the 1958 elections. For the second round of the presidential elections it fell to 60%, the lowest since 1949.Nohlen, pp. 156–157.
Background Before the election, the country's Supreme Electoral Tribinal attempted to make several reforms to the electoral system. These included allowing independents to run in local elections, using electronic voting machines, allowing Costa Ricans living abroad to vote, and allowing voters to choose the top two places on parliamentary lists. However, the changes were rejected by the Legislative Assembly, which noted that independent candidature was incompatible with the constitution, and that electronic voting could not be guaranteed to be secure or transparent.
Results President
By province First round Province % PUSC % PLN % PAC % ML % PRC % PIN % FD % Other % 36.6 28.5 31.1 1.6 0.8 0.6 0.2 0.7 37.8 34.1 24.7 1.4 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.6 35.4 31.8 28.4 1.9 0.7 0.5 0.4 1.0 36.1 26.8 33.2 1.6 1.1 0.4 0.2 0.7 45.0 33.8 15.8 2.5 1.7 0.2 0.3 0.9 48.6 28.4 14.9 2.8 3.1 0.3 0.4 1.5 44.3 40.6 12.1 0.9 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.8 Total 38.6 31.1 26.2 1.7 1.1 0.4 0.3 0.9
Second round Province PUSC % PLN % 57.7 42.3 56.1 43.9 55.6 44.4 58.1 41.9 59.7 40.3 67.0 33.0 57.1 42.9 Total 58.0 42.0
Parliament
By constituency Constituency PUSC PLN PAC ML PRC FD PIN Other % S % S % S % S % S % S % S % S San José 27.16 24.25 27.06 11.82 3.61 1.70 1.80 2.80 Alajuela 30.24 30.54 20.72 7.51 2.80 1.30 1.40 5.40 Cartago 25.72 25.42 20.82 7.31 2.00 3.70 4.50 10.40 Heredia 27.51 24.31 27.62 10.71 3.50 2.30 1.00 3.00 Puntarenas 37.82 29.81 12.91 10.01 4.20 1.80 0.40 3.20 Limón 37.32 26.22 12.71 8.11 5.60 2.70 0.80 9.40 Guanacaste 37.92 39.12 10.30 2.80 6.20 1.20 0.40 2.20 Total 29.819 27.117 22.014 9.36 3.61 2.00 1.70 4.60
See also 2002 Costa Rican municipal elections
References