SAN JOSE, (Reuters) – Costa Rica’s centrist ruling party hopeful Johnny Araya had a strong early lead in yesterday’s presidential contest, but could still face a run-off, preliminary election results showed.
Araya, a former mayor of San Jose, had around 36 percent of the vote with 9 percent of polling booths counted, while left-leaning newcomer Luis Guillermo Solis lay in second with 21 percent. Left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Villalta was in third with 17.4 percent.
An April run-off between the top two vote-getters is required if no single candidate wins more than 40 percent of the vote.
