March 10th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Recent polls that showed PLN presidential hopeful, Johnny Araya significantly trailing rival Luis Guillermo Solis (PAC) for the April 6th presidential runoff led to Araya’s decision to end his campaign last Tuesday, according to his campaign staff.
Several pollsters including CID-Gallup, Borges y Asociados and Demoscopía all indicated that Solis was far ahead of Araya amongst likely voters.
“A CID-Gallup survey that we commissioned indicated that in the best of cases those polled were 70-30 in favor of the Citizen Action Party (PAC). The poll conducted by Borges y Asociados for Revista Poder stated that support for PAC as a party was 50% versus 25% [for PLN], which was an unprecedented situation. Another poll established a difference of 75% to 25% in favor of the PAC,” Araya campaign chief, Antonio Álvarez Desanti, told the digital newspaper, CRHoy.com.
Another recent poll conducted by the Center for Research and Policy Studies at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) gave 64.4% of intended votes to Solis versus 20.9% to Araya.
“I’ve listened to the Costa Rican people, I’ve paid attention to their judgments, I’ve consulted surveys that measure public opinion and I’ve witnessed the growing demand for a shift in power away from the party,” Araya said last Tuesday in announcing the end of his campaign.
While Araya has ended his campaign, the April 6th runoff election will continue as planned with both Araya and Solis appearing on the ballot, as Costa Rican election laws do not allow a candidate in a presidential runoff to drop out.