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Arias Still in First Place in
Costa Rica, La Nación Poll
Former head of state Óscar Arias
Sánchez is still the candidate
to beat in Costa Rica, according
to a poll by Unimer published in
La Nación.
Though his numbers have dropped
to 45%, down from 47% in August,
while the second and third place
candidates, Ottol Solís and Otto
Guevara, have gained, Costa
Ricans would elect Arias in next
year’s presidential election.
In March 2004, Arias officially
announced his intention to run
for president again as the
candidate for the National
Liberation Party (PLN). The
Costa Rican Legislative Assembly
opted to bring back presidential
re-election in 2003. Arias
headed the government from 1986
to 1990.
Ottón Solís of the Partido
Acción Cuidadana (PAC) is second
with 21 per cent, followed by
Otto Guevara of the Movimiento
Libertario(ML) with 15 per cent,
Antonio Álvarez Desanti of the
Union Para Cambio (UPC) with
seven per cent, José Manuel
Echandi of the Partido Unidad
Nacional (PUN) with four per
cent, Ricardo Toledo of the
governing Partido Unidad Social
Cristiana (PUSC) with three per
cent, and Juan José Vargas of
Patria Primera (PP) with two per
cent.
On Nov. 30, Arias presented his
government plan. The document
calls for the annual
construction of 16,000 new
homes, and seeks to add 400
officers to the country’s police
force.
Last week, Álvarez Desanti said
his proposal calls for "higher
wages and increases during times
of high inflation," adding, "As
long as oil prices continue to
rise, any politician who claims
prices will not go up is lying."
The PUSC’s Abel Pacheco was
elected in a run-off in April
2002 with 58 per cent of the
vote. The election is scheduled
for Feb. 6, 2006. If no
candidate garners more than 40
per cent of all cast ballots, a
run-off would take place on Apr.
2, 2006.
Polling Data
What candidate would you vote
for in the next presidential
election?
| |
Nov. 2005 |
Aug. 2005 |
|
Óscar Arias (PLN) |
45% |
47% |
|
Ottón Solís (PAC) |
21% |
17% |
|
Otto Guevara (ML) |
15% |
10% |
|
Antonio Álvarez Desanti (UPC) |
7% |
7% |
|
José Manuel Echandi (PUN) |
4% |
5% |
|
Ricardo Toledo (PUSC) |
3% |
7% |
|
Juan José Vargas (PP) |
2% |
2% |
Source: Unimer / La Nación
Methodology: Interviews with
2,418 Costa Rican adults,
conducted from Nov. 11 to Nov.
23, 2005. Margin of error is 2
per cent.
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