IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Costa Rica

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Upcoming Elections

Parliamentary
February 2014
Presidential
February 2014

Costa Rica
Republic of Costa Rica
Region: Americas

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda *
Head of Government: President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda
Assembly: Costa Rica has a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) with 57 seats.

* The electoral system is two-round with a 40 percent threshold.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by qualified majority to serve a 4-year term.
In the Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) 57 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** There are seven constituencies corresponding to Costa Rica's provinces, and seats are apportioned to each in proportion to population. Seats are allocated at the constituency level. Once all lists' quotas have been filled, there are additional considerations for sub-quotas of votes (50 percent of a full quota), and then for remainders less than sub-quotas.