(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Current vice-president Laura Chinchilla holds the lead in the early stages of Costa Rica’s presidential race, according to a poll by CID-Gallup. 35 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing National Liberation Party (PLN) member in the 2010 election.

Former economy minister Ottón Solís of the Citizens Action Party (PAC) is second with 30 per cent, followed by former president Rafael Ángel Calderón of the Social-Christian Unity Party (PUSC) with 13 per cent.

A second scenario shows San José mayor Johnny Araya Monge of the PLN in first place with 33 per cent, followed by Solís with 31 per cent, and Calderón with 15 per cent.

The PLN’s Óscar Arias won the February 2006 presidential election with 40.92 per cent of all cast ballots. Solís finished in second place with 39.80 per cent. Arias headed the government from 1986 to 1990, and was able to run again after the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly opted to bring back presidential re-election in 2003. He was sworn in for the second time in May 2006.

In 1987, Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in a peace deal that ended years of bloodshed in Central America. In 2007, Costa Rican voters ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in a nationwide referendum.

On Apr. 15, Arias referred to Chinchilla as a great presidential hopeful, saying, "Chinchilla is a woman with a great calling to public service, and she has shown leadership, responsibility, and hard work in all of her positions."

Polling Data

Which of these candidates would you vote for in the 2010 presidential election?

Option 1

Option 2

Source: CID-Gallup
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Costa Rican adults, conducted from Apr. 17 to Apr. 27, 2008. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.

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