Laura Fernandez, a former chief of staff and protege of President Rodrigo Chaves, is the front-runner to potentially avoid an April 5 runoff.

Opinion polls are in Costa Rica election The center-right populist government seeks to extend its term and secure control of the legislative assembly as drug-fueled violence sweeps the country.

Polling stations open at 6am local time (12:00 GMT) on Sunday and will remain open until 6pm (24:00 GMT), Early trends may appear within hours.

Laura Fernandez, President Rodrigo Chaves’ top aide and former chief of staff, leads the polls with more than 40 percent support, enough to win outright and avoid an April 5 runoff. She pledged to continue Chávez’s tough security policies and anti-establishment message.

Among the 20 candidates, her closest rivals are centrist economist Alvaro Ramos, who represents Costa Rica’s oldest political party, and architect and former first lady Claudia Dobles, who represents the Progressive Alliance, whose husband Carlos Alvarado served as president from 2018 to 2022.

Both poll numbers are in single digits, but if Fernandez’s approval rating falls below 40%, they will be considered the two most likely to compete in a runoff.

Fernandez also urged voters to give her 40 seats in the country’s 57-seat legislative assembly, an outright majority that would allow her to pursue constitutional reforms. The current government holds just eight seats and blames congressional gridlock for hampering its agenda.

Polls show about a quarter of 3.7 million voters are undecided, with the largest group aged 18 to 34 coming from the coastal provinces of Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limon.

“People are tired of the promises of all governments, including this one, even though they say some true things, like the need for stronger laws to restore order,” said Yheison Ugarte, a 26-year-old delivery worker from downtown Limon, a Caribbean port city hardest hit by drug violence.

A University of Costa Rica CIEP poll showed that despite a surge in homicides to a record high during his term and multiple corruption investigations, Chavez remains deeply popular, with an approval rating of 58%.

While Costa Rica does not allow consecutive terms, Fernandez has pledged to include Chavez in his government and position himself as a continuation of his term.