2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Candidates Close Their
Campaigns For The Home Run Stretch
This past weekend was an important weekend
for all four of the candidates who have a
chance at winning in the polls this coming
Sunday. And all were out to meet the voters
personally in different areas of San José.
Frontrunner, Laura Chinchilla drew a crowd
of tens thousands to her "festival adelante"
campaign with a big street party on Paseo
Colón. The event was the closing to a
campaign that should make her the first
woman president in Costa Rica and follow in
the heels of her main supporter, Oscar
Arias.
Organizers estimate that 150.000 supporters
were out to greet Laura personally during
yesterday's event. Although the event was
held in San José, the "verdiblancos" (green
and white party) held activities in all
corners of the country.
For runner up otto Guevara of the Movimiento
Libertario his focus was on Desemparados,
taking over the Villa Olímpica de
Desamparados to promote his "cambio ya"
(change now) campaign that he assures will
see him in the presidential chair.
Desamparados is the most populated canton in
San José.
Guevara told his followers that the "La
escoba vieja del PLN no resolverá los
problemas del país” (the old broom of the
PLN party won't resolve the problems of the
country). It is not known if his "old broom"
remark was calling Laura and old broom or to
the old guard of the party.
For his part, Ottón Solís of the Partido
Acción Ciudadana (PAC), he spent the day in
Pérez Zeledó with his promise to cut
spending and reduce government costs. Solís
has run a frugal campaing compared to the
other candidates and assures that he will be
successful this third time around.
Solís has been running third in the polls
throughout the campaign. However, he has
picked up steam this past week, gaining
ground on Guevara and we have to remember
that he was assured a loss in 2006, then
coming within a 1.000 votes of beating Oscar
Arias, on voting day.
For Luis Fishman, the "el menos malo" (the
least bad), of the Partido Unidad Social
Cristiana (PUSC), he drew a few thousand
supporters at the Parque Cental in downtown
San José, by offering a draw for a new home.
Fishman has called himself the least bad has
raised question from many who are asking, is
he admitting He is bad and just not as bad
as the others? Whatever, the result of the
campaign is that, although nothing is sure
until all the votes are counted on Sunday,
he will not be the country's next president.
Costa Ricans take to the polls on Sunday,
February 7.
As per the rules of the Tribunal Supremo de
Elecciones (TSE) all political campaigning
stops on Thursday, allowing voters a time to
reflect and not be bombarded by political
rhetoric before making their mark on the
ballot.
Also, employers must allow employees time
off to vote, without deduction of salary.
And this election, will be the first
election when booze will flow at the local
bars and restaurants. The TSE removed the
"dry law" provisions that in the past
elections prohibited the sale of beer and
liquor the day before, the day of, and the
day after the elections.
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