National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
7 November 1949
Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative
acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First
Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since 8 May 2002); Second Vice
President Luis FISHMAN (since 8 May 2002); note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First
Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice
President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president
elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February
2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA
February 2006)
election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote -
Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats;
members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1; note - seats by party as of
January 2005 - PUSC 19, PLN 16, PAC 8, PML 5, PRC 1, Patriotic Union
3, Homeland First 1, Authentic Member from Heredia 1, Democratic
National Alliance 1, independent 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for
eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)
Political parties and leaders:
Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or
PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo
OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Juan Carlos CHAVES Mora];
Democratic National Alliance [Emilia RODRIGUEZ]; General Union Party
or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First [Juan Jose
VARGAS]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO
Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth];
National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Victor GONZALEZ]; National
Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National
Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO]; National
Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas]; National
Rescue Party or PRN [Carlos VARGAS Solano]; Patriotic Union
[Humberto ARCE]; Popular Vanguard [Trino BARRANTES Araya]; Social
Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Lorena VASQUEZ Badilla]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist
Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of
Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican
Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party
affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National
Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association
of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert
Brown]
International organization participation:
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO