Costa Rica

The president (head of state) is directly elected for a 4-year term. The incumbent president may not run for a consecutive second term, only 8 years after the end of their first term. 

The presidential election is held in a modified two-round system, (the first round) concurrently with the legislative election. In the first round, two candidates are chosen to proceed to the runoff via single-choice voting, unless exactly one candidate has obtained 40% plurality of the votes. An absolute majority (more than half of the votes, 50%+) is therefore not required for a first-round victory. In the second round, one candidate wins by a simple majority (excluding ties).

Citizens abroad may vote in the presidential election.

The 57-member unicameral legislature is directly elected in a closed-list regional proportional representation system every 4 years.

The representatives are elected in 7 multi-member districts. The simple quota (Hare quota) and largest remainders method are used for the distribution of seats, which ensures a high degree of proportionality. There is no national legal electoral threshold, but in a district only the party that has obtained at least half of the quota ('sub-quota') is entitled to a remainder seat.

Citizens abroad may not vote in the legislative elections.

This is the description of the electoral system of Costa Rica as of 06.06.2026 on Electoral Knowledgebase. Sources and further information on this topic:

• Costa Rica | Election Passport

• http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2073_B.htm

Feedback, criticism is welcome and appreciated.