Future President Still Unknown
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net

More than 24 hours after the polls closed, presidential candidates Oscar Arias and Ottón Solís remain neck-and-neck in what has become the closest presidential election in Costa Rica 's modern electoral history.

With just over 3,000 votes between them last night, and thousands of ballots yet to be counted, results of the surprisingly close election between Solís, of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), and Arias, of the National Liberation Party (PLN), may not be known for weeks (see story below).

Arias, who was President from 1986-1990 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, was for months expected to win the election with ease.

Hundreds of Liberation supporters waited at the Tripp Corobici hotel in downtown San José until 3 a.m. yesterday morning in anticipation of an announcement of Arias victory. But while a live band kept their energy high, it was not until 2:30 a.m. that Arias left his hotel room, where he had been closely watching the results, to join the “party.” Arias thanked the sea of green and white for the support he received throughout the campaign and during the long hours of waiting that night.

Arias then told the audience that, although confident of his triumph, “out of respect for our democratic institutions, out of respect for the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE)… and out of respect for the generous Costa Rica people,” he would wait for the conclusions before making any declaration of victory.

Such a declaration may never come. All day yesterday, as more ballots were counted, Arias's lead grew smaller. When the TSE stopped the preliminary count early Monday morning, Arias held a lead of 8,000 votes. That dropped to 3,000 by yesterday afternoon when the preliminary count ended inconclusively.

“We should recognize we didn't expect results to be this tight,” Arias said. “We expected a more unified triumph. But this happens to even the best families. John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon by a similar percentage, so we shouldn't get hung up.”

Arias's lack of humility has been named as one reason for his loss of votes. In the last month of his campaign, he refused to participate in debates, saying his lead in the polls was so large that Solís would gain nothing from it.

Even Liberation leaders such as Carlos Ricardo Benavides, a legislator who has worked extensively on the Arias campaign, admitted Arias's unpopularity among some voters. He told the press early yesterday morning that, while the votes for Arias were for Arias, many of the votes for Solís against Arias Solís, rather than being in support of the PAC candidate.

Solís' success at the polls can be attributed to this, among a variety of other factors. He has gained much support as the candidate of change among voters who oppose the same traditional leadership that has defined the country for years.

“While Arias represents the ruling political class – every day less popular – Solís represents the opposite,” Sergio Araya, president of the Association of Political Science and International Relations Professionals, explained yesterday.

In addition, Solís had the support of people who oppose the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). The candidate has championed the agreement's renegotiation.

Furthermore, while Arias ran a campaign using traditional techniques of big rallies and catch phrases, Solís's campaign was much more straight-forward, no-nonsense and low-budget, something that attracts a Costa Rican voting population that has matured, Araya said.

This difference in styles was reflected in the election night celebration held by each party. While a live band, two stages and balloon pillars defined the Arias affair at the Corobicí, the PAC event was held on the street corner outside party headquarters. Supporters pulled up lawn chairs, listened to campaign songs on loudspeakers and awaited the surprising results from the radio.

At approximately 10 p.m., Solís addressed his supporters from the sidewalk, not a podium, asking them to be patient. While many stayed in the cool night for hours, by just before 3 a.m., a diminished crowd of hardy souls remained for the candidate's final declarations, telling them again they needed to be patient for the results. And his words still ring true.