Conservative candidate Laura Fernandez by Monday morning was able to quickly declare victory in the presidential election after early results confirmed a decisive lead, causing her nearest rival to concede. She took nearly half the vote.

By early Monday, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported that ballots from 81% of polling stations had been counted, giving the Sovereign People's Party candidate 48.9% of the vote. The figure clears the 40% threshold needed to avoid a runoff, effectively ending the race in the first round.

Her closest challenger, economist Alvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party, trailed far behind with 33%. A distant third was progressive architect and former first lady Claudia Dobles, who failed to reach 5%.

This marks another clear victory and mandate for the Right in Latin American politics. Ferdandez is vowing "deep and irreversible change". The country's second republic, born after the 1948 civil war, "is a thing of the past," she's declared in a victory speech.

The relatively young, 39-year-old leader told a large enthusiastic audience of flag-waving supporters, "It's up to us to build the third republic" based on a vision that is "respectful and firm on the rule of law."

"Any law that is ineffective, that has become obsolete, that has become a hindrance to development, will be modified or repealed," she proclaimed.

Costa Rica, though long regarded as one of Central America's safest and most stable democracies, has seen crime surge amid the regional expansion of transnational criminal gangs.

One regional monitor included rare mention of Costa Rica as giving increased cause for concern in a review of Latin American narco and crime hubs:

While it remains outside the most dangerous tier, its homicide rate has risen from 11.56 in 2015 to 16.6 in 2024. Key port cities like Limón are emerging as major cocaine export points, mirroring Ecuador's descent into narco-violence.

Previously on the campaign trail Fernandez openly signaled admiration for El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, whose hardline and unapologetic security policies have driven murder rates sharply lower and earned him sky-high approval ratings at home.

Fernandez has said she will declare states of emergency in gang-dominated areas and complete construction of a high-security prison modeled on El Salvador's Cecot facility.