Alcohol Sales Will Not Be Interrupted During Referendum
Come September 23, bars, restaurants, supermarkets and liquor stores will be able to remain open and business as usual when it comes to sales of beer, wine and liquor, during the referendum on the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the United States - voting.

The magistrates of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) said that the "Ley seca" (dry law) that applies to elections does apply in the cases of the public opinion vote, the first in Costa Rican history.

The TSE has yet to officially confirm the Sunday 23 September date. The date was set temporarily earlier this month and is expected to be made official in the first week of June.

The Ley Seca becomes controversial every time it is applied, which lasts one day before, the day of and the day following an election. The law also applies to public forums or "plaza públicas" during election campaigns, that effectively closes off all sales of alcohol within a radius of the public function.

The Ley Seca also applies to Thursday and Friday of Semana Santa (Easter Week), which many critics say that the antiquated law cuts into the tourism business.

Pen & Paper To Cast Vote
The popular vote, according to the TSE will follow the same rules as presidential elections since 1998, save for the ban on alcohol sales, where citizens will cast their vote with a pen on a voting ballot. The Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) and the Frente Amplio, headed by José Merino, parties want the popular vote by marking the voting ballot with ink with the voters thumb, thereby eliminating any possible voting fraud.

However, the TSE assures that the pen and paper system will be continued, saying it is a more practical way to vote and eliminate any possible spoiled ballots by containing other stains on the paper when it comes time to folding the ballot to be placed in the ballot box.

In addition, the TSE says that voting with the thumb violates the constitutional right to a secret vote. "Given that the ink impression of the thumb individualizes the voter, it is a mechanism that is juridically unacceptable", said the Tribunal in its decision.