It is 2 p.m. in Costa Rica and in just 4 hours voting centers will close their doors and Costa Rica will have a new president.

Fabricio Alvarado, candidate of the National Restauration Party, feels confident of coming out victorious in this process, he expected to have a million votes guaranteed by noon time, and said he was certain he’d get an overwhelming triumph. “It is important to remember that we all love our country, there will be no discriminations in my government”, stated Fabricio Alvarado in an interview with Channel 7.

On the other hand, Carlos Alvarado from the Citizens’ Action Party was calling on citizens to vote and reduce abstentionism.(people who don’t vote)

In social media many people have expressed their apathy in the process and stated they voted only to fulfill their civic duty and by “exclusion”.

In the first round of elections in February 4, 34.3% of voters chose not to exercise their right.

The last two surveys published showed different results, company Opol Consultores showed Fabricio Alvarado with a comfortable advantage, while the survey carried out by the Center for Political Studies and Investigation of the University of Costa Rica (CIEP-UCR) had the candidates in a statistical tie.

The day started out slow, but voting centers have reported more participation as the hours have passed.

The President of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Luis Antonio Sobrado, emphasized that there needs to be serenity by the political parties, especially in the event that the results show a close race.

“History gives us the experience that when the results are close they cause lack of absolute certainty, and for this reason we have to be more cautious and serene”.

“If the difference in the total of votes is of under 2% it will require a manual count of votes (one vote can make the difference) and a revision of each one, which makes for a more detailed scrutiny. In this scenario candidates would have to abstain from declaring themselves winners or losers, since with the manual count the reality could change”, said Sobrado.