Costa Rica Votes in National Elections

Costa Ricans are voting in national elections Sunday, with polls indicating the country may elect its first female president.

Laura Chinchilla is the frontrunner among seven candidates. She served as vice president under current President Oscar Arias.

Chinchilla has promised to continue Mr. Arias' business-friendly policies and to take measures to curb rising crime.

Her main challengers are Otto Guevara, who has called for tax cuts and adopting the U.S. dollar as currency, and economist Otton Solis, who wants to renegotiate the terms of the Central America Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

A candidate must win at least 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Costa Ricans are also choosing a new legislature and municipal leaders.

(Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.)

Chinchilla close to Costa Rica presidential victory

Elections results in Costa Rica have put Laura Chinchilla on course to be the country's first woman president.

Initial results from Sunday's vote gave her an almost unassailable lead and the main opposition contender, Otton Solis, has conceded.

With 47% of votes, Mrs Chinchilla, 50, was 20 percentage points ahead and over the 40% threshold for an outright win.

A former deputy to outgoing President Oscar Arias, she pledges to continue moderate free-market policies.

Mr Solis - who was narrowly defeated by Mr Arias in Costa Rica's previous presidential vote - was quick to declare Mrs Chinchilla the winner.

"With a lot of respect, we accept the reality," the AFP news agency quoted him as telling supporters.

Critics of Mrs Chinchilla say she is too close to Mr Arias, and that he will continue to control government policies.

The party of Mr Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has dominated politics for decades in what is one of Latin America's most stable countries.

The country abolished its army in 1949 and has become known in recent years for tourism and progressive environmental policies.

(taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/)