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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Arias First, Participation Low in Costa Rica
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Former head of state Óscar Arias Sánchez is the most popular presidential candidate in Costa Rica, according to a poll by Borge y Asociados published in Extra. 28.3 per cent of respondents would vote for Arias in next February's 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 Citizens Action Party (PAC) is second with 10.1 per cent, followed by Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement (ML) with 7.5 per cent, Antonio Álvarez Desanti of the Union for Change (UPC) with 5.7 per cent, José Manuel Echandi of the National Union Party (PUN) with three per cent, and Ricardo Toledo of the governing Social-Christian Unity Party (PUSC) with 2.3 per cent. The surveys shows that more than a quarter of respondents would not head to the polling stations.
On Nov. 17, Arias said racism should be eradicated in Costa Rica, declaring, "Mistakenly, we keep teaching our children that we are a white-skinned society of European origin. Worse yet, we teach them that this makes us different from the rest of Central America. This amounts to ignorance, mental laziness and racism."
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.
Polling Data
What candidate would you vote for if the presidential election were held today?
Óscar Arias (PLN) | 28.3% |
Ottón Solís (PAC) | 10.1% |
Otto Guevara (ML) | 7.5% |
Antonio Álvarez Desanti (UPC) | 5.7% |
José Manuel Echandi (PUN) | 3.0% |
Ricardo Toledo (PUSC) | 2.3% |
Other | 2.4% |
Not sure | 13.4% |
Would not vote | 27.3% |
Source: Borge y Asociados / Extra
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,008 Costa Rican adults, conducted from Oct. 27 to Nov. 10, 2005. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.