National
President of the Republic
- Spanish: Presidente de la República
How it's filled
- In plain words
- Elected
- Exact method
- Elected by direct universal suffrage for a four-year term, with no immediate re-election (Constitution arts. 130, 134, 138); a candidate needs at least 40% of valid votes in the first round, otherwise a run-off is held between the top two (art. 138). Election day is the first Sunday of February (Electoral Code).
- Seats
- 1
Who holds it now
- Laura Fernández Delgado PPSO since May 2026 Report Source: presidencia.go.cr, checked
Next vote
Sources
- pdba.georgetown.edu · checked Constitution of Costa Rica, read 2026-10-12: selection method, term and size of each office (arts. 106-107, 130-139, 158); minister offices follow the portfolios listed at https://www.presidencia.go.cr/gabinete/. For: President of the Republic
- presidencia.go.cr · checked Spanish official names from presidencia.go.cr, asamblea.go.cr, poder-judicial.go.cr and the Constitution (Spanish text), read 2026-10-12. For: President of the Republic in Spanish
- presidencia.go.cr · checked Casa Presidencial, Gabinete page, read 2026-10-12 (ministers); inauguration 2026-05-08 and vice presidents per press (Forbes/Heraldo 2026-05-08, Observador 2026-05-05); Labor: Mercedes Flores Badilla replaced Roy Thompson (resigned 2026-06-30) per Delfino/CRHoy July 2026; Foreign Affairs: Manuel Tovar dismissed 2026-09-24, Indiana Trejos acting, Ana Elena Pinto Lizano designated from 2026-10-15 (La República, 2026-10-05). Fallback: press for dates and for vice presidents. For: Laura Fernández Delgado, current term
- pdba.georgetown.edu · checked Constitution arts. 107, 138 and Electoral Code (Ley 8765), read 2026-10-12: general election on the first Sunday of February of the year the term ends (2030-02-03); date not yet convoked by TSE decree, so date_confirmed=false. Held 2026-02-01 (Fernández won in first round with 48.3%). For: General election, February 3, 2030