"Verdiblancos" To The
Polls Today
The Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) will
hold its eight convention today as some
400.000 potential voters will elect one of
three candidates: the leading candidate,
former vice president, Laura Chinchilla and
the mayor of San Jose, Johnny Araya or the
longshot, former ministro de Seguridad,
Fernando Berrocal.
The expected number of voters is a record
for the party that is also known as the "verdiblanco"
(green and white)
Today's vote is not only to pick a party
candidate, but could be the next president
of the country, to follow Oscar Arias.
Voting opened this morning at 7am at 1.064
voting centres around the country and close
at 6pm. The party brass has said it will be
announcing the winner of the vote by not
later than 8:30pm.
Although only 400.000 voters are expected to
take part in today's vote, the party had 1.8
million voting ballots printed - the number
of eligible voters in the country - just in
case.
The latest polls indicate that Chinchilla is
the favourite with 45% support to Araya's
34%. Berrocal only received a 2% support in
the poll taken between May 7 and 17.
The president of the PLN party, Francisco
Antonio Pacheco (also president of the
country's Legislative Assembly), described
as "very decent" the process leading up
today.
"Antagonism has not been as strong. There is
always some 'chispitas' (sparks), but not be
compared with that of Don José María
Figueres (1993) and others whom have been
more tense", said Pacheco.
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