Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez won Costa Rica’s presidential election on Sunday by a landslide, after promising to crack down hard on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade.
Fernandez’s nearest rival, center-right economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a run-off.
With 81.24 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves had 48.94 percent of the vote compared to 33.02 percent for Ramos.