Costa Rica's governing party nearly 'erased' by election

Costa Rica’s Citizens’ Action Party broke 60 years of bipartisan rule in 2014, but after two terms in power it has been practically erased from the country’s political map in national elections

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Costa Rica’s Citizens’ Action Party broke 60 years of bipartisan rule in 2014, but after two terms in power it was practically erased from the country’s political map in national elections.

Outgoing President Carlos Alvarado’s party got less than 1% of the votes cast Sunday, according to the latest preliminary results from the Supreme Elections Tribunal. The party didn’t even earn one of the 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

The party’s presidential candidate, lawmaker Welmer Ramos, was never able to shake the unpopularity of Alvarado and the frustrated “change” that the party had promised.

Political scientist Francisco Barahona blamed the downfall on the governments of Alvarado and his predecessor, Luis Guillermo Solís. He said they created emotion “almost of revenge” among people who wanted to punish it at the ballot box.