Laura Fernández wins Costa Rica presidency as security dominates campaign

By John Merolla

Life News Today Reporter

Costa Rica elected Laura Fernández as its next president on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, according to preliminary results released by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (SET). The candidate surpassed the threshold required to win in the first round and avoided a runoff in a race that featured a fragmented field of contenders, based on provisional data reported from the official vote tally by the SET.

The process was administered by the SET, the constitutional body responsible for organizing elections and transmitting provisional results publicly throughout election night. For this national vote, the tribunal activated 7,154 polling stations and said the count began after polls closed at 6 p.m., with the first provisional results announced during a formal session at 8:45 p.m., followed by updates every 15 minutes. Costa Rica electoral rules require a minimum vote tally of 40% to win without a second round. Fernández moved above the 40% and secured an early victory.

In December, the SET activated its “Votante Informado” program to provide candidate profiles and downloadable government platforms, along with digital formats for reviewing proposals. The transparency aided voters in making an informed decision based on each candidate's political policy and campaign platforms.

For decades, Costa Rica has projected itself as a regional exception, a country without a standing army since 1948 and closely associated with democratic stability and institutional continuity. Its economy relies on tourism tied to its natural environment and conservation model, along with agricultural exports such as coffee, bananas and pineapples. The country also experienced growth in technology and services, with industrial activity and international companies operating within its territory, in a context where recent public debate focused less on identity and more on security.

The election unfolded in a climate where public conversation turned sharply toward violence and the expansion of drug trafficking, not as a distant concept but as a daily experience. Costa Rica closed 2025 with 873 homicides and a rate of 16.7 homicides per 100,000 residents, according to figures presented by the Judicial Investigation Agency during a public briefing in early January. Security shaped the tone of the campaign and public understanding of what was at stake, with proposals calling for tougher responses to organized crime and drug trafficking.

The result also signaled the type of mandate the new president faces. The transfer of government is scheduled for May 8 under the country’s institutional calendar. By winning in the first round, Fernández avoided weeks of additional campaigning and the pressure of a second vote, but she also faces immediate expectations for results on security and for balancing executive speed with institutional checks. The campaign revolved around a concrete concerns like safety in streets, neighborhoods and daily transit routes. Safety standards and implementation is likely a large factor in shaping the incoming administration.

At the same time, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal framed election night in terms of operational transparency and technological security. The tribunal said it used a combination of mobile device transmission managed by officials and call centers with established protocols for reporting tally sheets, along with dedicated links and security controls to reduce risks in releasing provisional data. That emphasis sought to sustain confidence in the rapid results system, a central component of Costa Rica’s electoral process. In the days before the vote, the tribunal also warned about unofficial versions of its mobile application linked to election information and urged users to download only official tools from authorized channels, pointing to risks of misinformation and data security in the digital environment surrounding the vote.

As the electoral phase comes to an end, attention turns to the speed with which an administration shows progress on security is measured not only through indicators but through the daily perception of risk among families who adjust routines based on what they see and experience. The Judicial Investigation Agency described current violence rates as historically high for 2025, the political margin for delaying results tends to narrow. Fernández’s victory resolved the election in a single day, but it opens a more demanding phase of verification, where the central question will be not only what a candidate promised but what she can implement and within what institutional limits in a country long defined by its democratic stability.