Costa Rica elects hardliner Laura Fernández in a first-round security landslide
A Chaves-aligned conservative wins outright with 48.5% and a single-party legislative majority — the first since 1990
Summary
Costa Rica elected Laura Fernández Delgado of the Sovereign People's Party (PPSO) president on 1 February 2026, taking 48.53% and clearing the 40% single-round threshold against Álvaro Ramos Chaves (PLN) and 18 others (Quem decide). She is the country's second woman president and takes office 8 May as its 50th. The PPSO also won an Assembly majority — 31 of the seats, against PLN's 17 — the first single-party majority since 1990. Public security drove the campaign: Fernández ran hard-line amid a sharp rise in homicides tied to cocaine trafficking and organised crime (Como a vida muda). Turnout was 69.22%, up 9.25 points on 2022. The result institutionalises the populist project of outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves.
By the numbers
- 48.53% — Fernández's first-round share, above the 40% win threshold.
- 31 of seats — PPSO's Legislative Assembly majority, first single-party majority since 1990.
- 69.22% — turnout, up 9.25 points on the 2022 first round.
- 8 May 2026 — date Fernández takes office as 50th president.
- 2nd — woman to be elected president of Costa Rica.
Why it matters
A hard-line security mandate plus a rare one-party legislative majority concentrates power in a historically consensual democracy, in a Central American state once seen as a stability anchor now strained by trafficking violence. It signals the regional drift toward security-first populism.
What to watch
- The 8 May handover and Fernández's first security and judicial moves.
- How a single-party majority reshapes Costa Rica's institutional checks.
- Homicide and trafficking trends against the hard-line platform.