At stake in this election:

• 57 seats in the Legislative Assembly

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.

Description of electoral system:

• In the Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) 57 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.^[1]

Election Notes:

• The last elections to the Legislative Assembly were held on February 7, 2010, alongside the presidential election. The National Liberation Party won a plurality of seats (24) and formed a government coalition with the Accessibility without Exclusion Party, Costa Rican Renovation Party, and National Restoration Party. The Citizens’ Action Party won the second-most seats (11) and leads the opposition. The parliamentary elections, like the presidential election, will be the first in which Costa Ricans living abroad can vote, increasing the number of registered voters by 10,264.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• National Liberation Party / Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN)
  • ​Leader: Johnny ARAYA
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 24
• Citizens’ Action Party / Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC)
  • ​Leader: Luis GUILLERMO
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 11
• Libertarian Movement Party / Partido Movimiento Libertario (PML)
  • ​Leader: Otto GUEVARA Guth
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 9
• Social Christian Unity Party / Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC)
  • ​Leader: Gerardo VARGAS Rojas
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 6
• Accessibility Without Exclusion / Partido Accesibilidad sin Exlusión (PASE)
  • ​Leader: Óscar Andrés LÓPEZ Arias
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 4
• Costa Rican Renovation Party / Partido Renovación Costarricense (PRC)
  • ​Leader: Justo OROZCO Álvarez
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 1
• Broad Front Party / Partido Frente Amplio (FA)
  • ​Leader: Patricia MORA Castellanos
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 1
• National Restoration Party / Partido Restauración Nacional (PREN)
  • ​Leader: Carlos Luis AVENDAÑO Calvo
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 1
• New Fatherland Party / Partido Patría Nueva (PPN)
  • ​Leader: Álvaro Eduardo MONTERO Mejía
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A
• Workers Party / Partido de los Trabajadores (PT)
  • ​Leader: Héctor MONESTEL
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A
• National Advancement Party / Partido Avance Nacional (PAN)
  • ​Leader: José Manuel ECHANDI
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A
• National Integration Party / Partido Integración Nacional (PIN)
  • ​Leader: Walter MUÑOZ Díaz
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 0
• New Generation Party / Partido Nueva Generación (PNG)
  • ​Leader: Sergio MENA Díaz
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A
• Patriotic Alliance / Alianza Patriótica (AP)
  • ​Leader: Jorge ARAYA Westover
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: 0
• Christian Democratic Alliance / Alianza Democráta Cristiana (ADC)
  • ​Leader: Mario REDONDO Poveda
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A
• National Union Party / Partido Unión Nacional (PUN)
  • ​Leader: Arturo ACOSTA Mora
  • Seats won in last Legislative Assembly election: N/A[2]

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,757,606 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 3,078,321 (2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,376,679 (2014)

·         Is Costa Rica a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Costa Rica ratified CEDAW: Yes (4 April 1986)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 19 (following 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 69 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Costa Rica a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Costa Rica ratified CRPD: Yes (1 October 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 716,640 (est.)