Costa Rica government's presidential candidate withdraws
Costa Rica government's presidential candidate withdraws
5 March 2014 Last updated at 20:15 ET
Costa Rican presidential candidate Johnny Araya, from the governing party, says he is abandoning his campaign for April's run-off election.
The surprise move opens the way for his only opponent, the left-leaning historian Luis Guillermo Solis, to be elected president on 6 April. After weighing his chances, it was only sensible to withdraw, Mr Araya said.
Neither Mr Araya nor his main rival reached the 40% of votes needed for an outright victory in the first turn.
A recent opinion poll suggested Mr Araya, with only 21% of voters likely to back him, was trailing behind Mr Solis with 64%.
"It is only prudent not to spend millions on publicity, meetings and other events. We will respect the constitutional provisions, but I will refrain from any electoral activity," he told reporters.
More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26461528