MEXICO CITY

Costa Rica is holding general elections on Sunday, with up to 3.7 million eligible voters set to decide who will become the country’s next president and to elect a new legislative body.

Polling stations opened at 6 am local time (1200GMT), and the voting is scheduled to conclude at 6 pm (0000GMT Monday). Voters will elect a president, two vice presidents, and 57 members of Congress for the next four-year term.

The Costa Rican government has enabled voting at 49 consulates across 42 different countries to allow citizens living abroad to cast their ballots. According to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, up to 67,270 voters are registered overseas and will be able to vote between 9 am and 7 pm local time.

Although there are 20 candidates running for the presidency, recent polls point to the ruling Sovereign People’s Party candidate Laura Fernandez Delgado as the clear front-runner in the presidential race.

Seen as the protege and political heir of President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Fernandez holds a significant lead. Some polls, including an exit poll by the Center for Political Research and Studies, place her support as high as 44% of voter intention. Under Costa Rican law, a candidate who receives at least 40% of the vote wins outright in the first round.

Fernandez’s platform has been presented as a continuation of the conservative administration of Chaves Robles, with a focus on economic policy and public security.

All other candidates are polling below 10%. Fernandez’s closest challenger is Alvaro Roberto Ramos of the left-leaning National Liberation Party, with 9.2%, followed by architect and former first lady Claudia Dobles of the Citizen Agenda Coalition, who has 8.6%, according to the same exit poll.

The president-elect will take office on May 8, while the newly elected legislature will be sworn in on May 1.

If no candidate reaches the 40% threshold in the first round, a second round will be held on April 5.