COSTA RICA – Laura Fernandez Delgado, a conservative running on the ruling Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO) ticket, was on Sunday announced as the leading presidential candidate by the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Fernandez Delgado – considered the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves Robles – holds an overwhelming advantage over the rest of the candidates and is on track to win the presidency in the first round, according to preliminary results, with votes at more than one-third of polling stations processed.

Initially, the TSE reported that votes at 2,228 polling stations out of a total of 7,154 have been counted, representing 31.14% of the vote, and it would continue updating results.

Fernandez Delgado leads the early count with 326,733 votes, or 53%, comfortably above the 40% threshold required to secure a first-round victory.

In second place is Alvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party (PLN), who has received 185,257 votes, or approximately 30.06%.

At 88.43% of polling stations counted, Fernandez Delgado remains at the top of the presidential race with 48.51% of the vote, or just over 1 million ballots. The right-wing candidate is set to win the election in the first round, having surpassed the 40% threshold required by law.

Leftist runner-up Ramos remained stalled at 33.32% of the vote, while the Liberal Party secured 750,585 votes.

The elections were marked by an unusually large field of candidates, with 20 competing for power.

However, 18 of the candidates failed to surpass 4% of the vote as of the preliminary count.

While election authorities have yet to officially declare Fernandez the winner of the 2026 general election, some have already celebrated the conservative’s decisive victory.

Neighbors and allies such as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele – whom the virtual winner has said she intends to model her security strategy after – have congratulated Fernandez on her virtual victory.

“I have just congratulated, via telephone, the president-elect of Costa Rica, Laura Fernandez. I wish her the greatest success in her administration and all the best to the beloved brotherly people of Costa Rica,” Bukele wrote on X.

The elections were also characterized by high voter participation, with the TSE reporting turnout at 66.96% and abstentions at 33.04%.