Right-Wing populist Laura Fernandez has been elected as Costa Rica's new president, with most of the votes counted.
With 85 percent of the ballots counted, Fernandez secured nearly half of the votes, which is enough to avoid a runoff.
No presidential candidate in Costa Rica was able to win in the first round of voting in more than a decade.
A nominee of the outgoing president Rodrigo Chaves, 39-year-old Fernandez won by capitalizing on his popularity, according to reports.
Fernandez, a political scientist, had promised to carry on with her predecessor's tough policies on tackling crime.
It marks the second time a woman has become president of the central American country.
The presidential candidate of the Sovereign People's Party, Fernandez previously has served as the minister of national planning and economic policy from 2022 to 2025 and the minister of the Presidency from 2024 to 2025.
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