As a cold front threatens to further dampen the turnout, Costa Ricans go to the polls today in an election that will probably spell the end of the traditional 2 party system.  Analysts predict a win by Oscar Arias of PLN today, althought there is an outside chance that Otton Solis of PAC could force a second round. Otto Guevara, of the Libertarian Movement still hopes for a surprise ending, while the other 11 candidates mostly took the day off yesterday.

In any case, there will be new political forces in play as the tradtional power PUSC may win only 1 seat in the new Assembly.  PLN is hoping to win 29 seats, which will give them control of the Legislature, but in any event there will be a strong presence of 2 other parties: PAC and the Libertarian Movement.  It is likely that to pass any legislation, PLN will have to negotiate with one of these parties and both acting together could block any legislation, if not with outright votes with delay tactics permitted by the assemby’s regulations.

The new Legislature will have to deal with the passage (or not) of the CAFTA agreement. Also, it will have to deal with the public finances, which means raising taxes under the tax plan in the current assembly, or coming up with another plan to cut spending or raise revenue.

With all of this at stake, the Costa Ricans do not seem to be responding.  Observers are predicting as much as 30% absenteeism at the polls. The last polls indicated also that nearly one third of voters were still undecided too.  The atmosphere in the streets surrounding the election is lukewarm at best, particularly compared to past elections which generated visible enthusiasm in the streets and plazas.

The reason for the lackluster atmosphere is that most Costa Ricans seem disillusioned with the governing class due to the ICE-Alcatel scandal and Caja-Fischel case, which has seen 2 ex-presidents jailed.  The poor performance of the current legislature and the mammoth unpopularity of President Abel Pacheco do not help matters either.

Today will tell whether Ticos will put aside their apathy and get out to vote, or whether the new era in democracy in Costa Rica will be decided by less than 2/3 of eligible voters.

You can follow the elections tonight on an interactive map at La Nacion.  As the TSE releases results La Nacion will update an interactive map in real time showing who is winning at each polling station: