Arias Ratified as PLN Candidate for the Presidential Race in 2006
It's official. Oscar Arias Sánchez was formally ratified as the presidential candidate for the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) in the 2006 elections.

The ratification came after the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) - the government body that is responsible to hold the elections - gave the green light to the party that did not have a convention to elect it's leader since there was no opposition.

The PLN has asked the TSE for a decision on the party's decision not to hold a convention since there was no opposition to the Arias nomination as presidential candidate.

Amid the festivities yesterday, Francisco Antonio Pacheco, president of the PLN said that Arias will make possible for Costa Rica to regain the path it lost. The PLN has led only one administration - José Maria Figueres Olsen - in the last 15 years, during which time the country has fallen into more poverty, blaming the ruling Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) party.

Arias, who many believe is a shoe-in next February called on Costa Ricans for "clean" campaign with attacks and mudslinging.

"I ask you all as well as our adversaries that we run a campaign that will be exemplary and bring out the our best convictions and not our worst ambitions", Arias told the audience.

Arias considers his duty to convince Costa Ricans that the country has the right to prosper and that the young have job opportunities during the next five years. He said the object of the green and white party is to give the country the possibility to convert itself into the most developed of Latin America and that requires political will power and sense of direction and leadership.

One of the main areas Arias plans to tackle once in office is develop the tools to combat poverty and for economic growth.

Today, Arias is headed for Washington, DC, in a campaign to promote the approval of the Tratado Libre de Comercio (TLC) - the Free Trade Agreement with the United states - to meet with several U.S. Congressman who oppose the treaty.

According to Arias the Republicans have no problem with the agreement.

Arias also added that he met with President Abel Pacheco while both were in Guatemala to attend the Induexpo trade show held there and assures that even though he has asked President Pacheco to send the TLC to the Costa Rican Congress, he (Pacheco) is not paying him attention.

The presidential elections will be held the first Sunday in February and the winner will take office in May of 2006. In the 2002 presidential elections, history was made with a necessary run-off vote when neither of three presidential contenders were able to gain the required majority vote.

In that election, Abel Pacheco of the PUSC beat out PLN candidate José Miguel Corrales, who in this election will be heading his own party.

No matter what the results, the 2006 election campaign will surely again make history with the high number of parties expected to participate in the election, of which six or more are expected to field a presidential candidate.

In the past, the tradition is for the PUSC and PLN to present a candidate for the people to choose. That changed in 2002 with the running of Ottón Solis for Partido Acción Cuidana (PAC) party.