Belonging to the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the CIEP consulted 940 people over 18 years of age by telephone, between October 24 and this Tuesday, with a margin of error of plus / minus 3.0 percent.
48 percent of those interviewed responded that they had not yet decided which presidential candidate will mark their ballot on February 6, 2022, which more than doubled the voting intention of the most favored, the candidate for the National Liberation Party, the ex-president José María Figueres, with 19 percent.
Of the rest of the 26 who wish to occupy the presidency between 2022 and 2026, only three more exceed the margin of error in the survey: Lineth Saborío, from the Christian Social Unity Party, with 8.0 percent; Fabricio Alvarado, from New Republic (5); and José María Villalta, from the Broad Front (4).
When taking into consideration that same margin of error, Saborío, Alvarado and Villalta appear technically tied and today they would be the strongest candidates to go to a second round against Figueres to define the president, according to the CIEP-UCR consultation.
The foregoing, because until this date, none of the applicants seems to be going to obtain more than 40 percent on the first occasion that voters go to the polls in the 2022 electoral process, in which they will be chosen, in addition to the president, to the two vice presidents, and the 57 deputies to the Legislative Assembly.
Researchers from the pollster summarize that the panorama has not changed significantly after the official opening of the electoral campaign, because, after the first weeks of the race, the vote is diluted among multiple alternatives, and the vast majority shows weak support, of less than two digits.
“At this point in the competition, the goal of reaching 40 percent of the votes in February 2022, and thereby avoiding a second round, is far off and unlikely,” conclude the CIEP-UCR experts.
mgt / ale
