The 2014 Costa Rican general election is shoring up to be an exciting one for Costa Rican citizens and IES Abroad students alike!
This year marks the first in Costa Rica’s history that citizens living or traveling abroad during the elections are allowed to vote. Costa Rican citizen and Washington & Lee University student, Daniel Rodriguez Segura, took advantage of this newfound liberty.
Originally planning to study abroad in Rome, Daniel registered at the Costa Rican Embassy in Rome. Upon learning of the IES Abroad Paris BIA Program, he changed his mind and switched programs. It was too late to register at the embassy in Paris, but he still managed to take a weekend trip to Rome to vote on February 2nd.
A few hours later, Daniel received a text message from his mother. She had seen him voting on a Costa Rican news channel (pictured at left).
University of Maryland – College Park student, Sydney Perlotto, is also studying with IES Abroad this semester—right in on the action in San José, Costa Rica. She experienced the election through living with a host family.
In a recent blog post, she explains, “I had the opportunity to go with my mama tica and another student to the school where the nearest voting was taking place. Outside the building there were several booths set up with supporters from the different political parties. My mama tica strategically wore black and white so as to not be affiliated with any of the parties.”
The two front-runner presidential candidates are Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC) and Johnny Francisco Araya Monge of the National Liberation Party (PLN). Spring 2014 IES Abroad San José students will observe the runoff election on April 6th.
