Image copyright AFP Image caption President-elect Carlos Alvarado is a former government minister and novelist

Carlos Alvarado, who has won Sunday's presidential election in Costa Rica, has called for unity after a divisive election campaign.

The centre-left candidate won by a surprisingly wide margin over his evangelical rival, Fabricio Alvarado (no relation).

With more than 95% of votes counted, Carlos Alvarado had a 21.5 percentage point lead.

He called on other parties to join him in a government of national unity.

'Take the country forward'

Polls conducted ahead of the second round of voting on Sunday had put the two candidates neck and neck, and Carlos Alvarado's unassailable lead early on Sunday was unexpected.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Supporters of Carlos Alvarado celebrated his victory

In his victory speech, given on Sunday night in front of hundreds of supporters in the city of San Pedro, the ex-government minister said that Costa Ricans could now "go to sleep reassured because there is a result, a decision and now we'll unite to take this country forward".

He also said that he had already received a "brotherly call" from his rival, Fabricio Alvarado, congratulating him.

The battle between Fabricio Alvarado, an evangelical pastor who had won the first round of the election on the back of his opposition to same-sex marriage, and Carlos Alvarado, who backs its legalisation, had been fierce.

Polar opposites

The two Alvarados also disagreed on most other topics, with 38-year-old Carlos running on a progressive platform and 43-year-old Fabricio promising to defend "traditional values".

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fabricio Alvarado conceded defeat after trailing Carlos Alvarado by more than 20 percentage points

Fears about Costa Rica's national deficit and the unprecedented rise of its murder rate were among the topics voters expressed concerns about.

In the end, Carlos Alvarado's experience as a minister for labour and social security minister under President Guillermo Solís appears to have stood him in good stead with voters concerned about rising unemployment.

He also enjoyed the backing not only of heavyweights of the governing Citizens' Action Party but also of other smaller parties.

Even though Fabricio Alvarado had served one term as a lawmaker, many had questioned whether Fabricio Alvarado had the political experience and connections to govern.

Carlos Alvarado, who worked for three years for US consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, was also seen as a steady hand by Costa Rica's business sector.

His vice-president elect, Epsy Campbell, said they would go to work on Monday contacting all the different factions in the country's national assembly to forge a government of national unity.</s>Electoral officials in Costa Rica say the governing party's candidate has won a presidential runoff election in which same-sex marriage was a big issue.

Carlos Alvarado of the ruling Citizen Action Party has 60.6 per cent of the votes, with just over 90 per cent of ballots counted Sunday night.

Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration party has 39.4 per cent of the votes. The two men are not related.

Fabricio Alvarado had led the initial election round in early February after coming out strongly against a call by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for Costa Rica to allow same-sex marriage.

The new president spoke strongly for permitting gays to wed.</s>Carlos Alvarado Quesada, presidential candidate of the ruling Citizens' Action Party (PAC), gestures to supporters after casting his ballot during the presidential election in San Jose, Costa Rica April 1, 2018. — Reuters picSAN JOSE, April 2 — Carlos Alvarado Quesada, the candidate for Costa Rica’s center-left ruling party, is to become his country’s next president after an election run-off this morning against an evangelical preacher, according a near-complete vote count by electoral authorities.

Alvarado, a 38-year-old former labor minister, won 60.66 per cent of the ballots, against 39.33 per cent for his ultra-conservative rival, Fabricio Alvarado (no relation), the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said, based on returns from more than 90 per cent of polling stations. — AFP</s>SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The latest on Costa Rica's presidential runoff election (all times local):

Electoral officials in Costa Rica say the governing party's candidate has won a presidential runoff election in which same-sex marriage was a big issue.

Carlos Alvarado of the ruling Citizen Action Party has 60.6 percent of the votes, with just over 90 percent of ballots counted Sunday night.

Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration party has 39.4 percent of the votes. The two men are not related.

Fabricio Alvarado had led the initial election round in early February after coming out strongly against a call by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for Costa Rica to allow same-sex marriage.

The new president spoke strongly for permitting gays to wed.</s>Carlos Alvarado Quesada, 38, will become the 48th president of Costa Rica, on May 8, 2018, winning the second round of elections with 60.79% of the votes against Fabricio Alvarado, who received 39.21%.

That was the officially announced by the president of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Luis Antonio Sobrado, at 9 p.m., three hours after the voting closed.

With 95.04% of the tables counted, Carlos Alvarado (the PAC candidate) received 1,275,671 or 60.8%, while Fabricio Alvarado (the Restauración candidate) received 822,997 or 39.2%. Abstention low, 32.97% compared to 43.5% of the second round four years ago.

From the Parque del Lago hotel, Fabricio Alvarado admitted his defeat.

“We will continue to work so that the sun shines again in this country, wherever we are, we will continue to defend those principles that have made this country grear. Wherever we are will continue working to defend life. I congratulate Don Carlos Alvarado. I called him by phone immediately and I told him that he can count on to face the things that are stuck in this country, I send my respect to Don Carlos,” said Fabricio Alvarado.

Before giving the results, the president of the TSE said that this had not been an easy campaign, that the date (Easter Sunday) was not the best, but that the country overcame the challenges.

In the words of Otto Solis on Twitter, “This is a second chance for the PAC and we can not fail” in describing the win by Carlos Alvarado.

By 9 p.m. Sunday night the party was over. Carlos Alvarado will now have to face the crisis in public finances that threatens to raise the fiscal deficit from 6.1% to 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2019.

At the same time, he will have the task of uniting the country, after three months of a deep polarization around same-sex marriage, abortion, sex education programs and the role of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

“The youth have asked that I not fail them, and I will fight not to fail,” said Carlos during his acceptance speech.

To resolve these fractures and combat the fiscal problem, Carlos Alvarado promised to build a “national government” and appoint a multiparty cabinet.

Carlos Alvarado, also promised to solve unemployment, insecurity, poverty, social inequality and the crisis in road infrastructure facing the celebration of the bicentennial of independence in 2021.

At 38 Carlos will become the youngest president of Costa Rica since the foundation of the Second Republic, in 1948.

This will also be the first time that the PAC forms a consecutive government, breaking the two-party paradigm of alternating governments between the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN) and the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) that had dominated Costa Rican politics for decades.

In addition, the PAC, under Carlos Alvarado’s leadership is close to reaching the figure of 1,338,321 votes obtained by President Luis Guillermo Solis, the highest vote in history, in 2014. In that second round election Solis ran unopposed, his challenger, Johnny Araya, having quit the presidential race, even though technically he could have been elected.

Also making history is the choice of Carlos Alvarado for his running mate, Epsy Campbell, who will become the first person of African descent to become first vice president of the country.</s>Costa Rica's ruling-party is all set to be the country's next leader, according to preliminary poll results posted by electoral officials.

Alvarado is on the track to win the presidential election, overcoming a challenge by a who ran on his opposition to same-sex marriage, The Post reported.

With about 90 percent of the votes counted, Alvarado, who had served in cabinet positions for the current president, Luis Guillermo Solis, had captured 60.6 percent, according to the country's

His opponent, Fabricio Alvarado Munoz, had been riding momentum based on his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion and his stance on other social issues.

He, however, received only 39.3 percent of the votes, at the time of filing this report.

The in had become consumed by social issues in recent weeks.

This year, the Inter- of Human Rights ruled that member countries should allow same-sex marriage.

"The inter-American court's ruling was really the equivalent of dropping an atomic bomb on the race. The whole race was transformed literally overnight. The election became, de facto, a referendum on same-sex marriage," The Post quoted Kevin Casas-Zamora, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue in and former of Costa Rica, as saying.

Central American countries tend to be predominantly Catholic and socially conservative, with relatively strict laws limiting abortion.

In Costa Rica, the evangelical vote has been growing in recent decades, and polls have shown that a majority of Costa Ricans oppose same-sex marriage.</s>Center-left candidate Carlos Alvarado Quesada won 61 percent of the vote in Costa Rica's second round presidential run-off vote on Sunday.

With nearly 91 percent of polling stations counted, the result puts Alvarado far ahead of his ultraconservative rival Fabricio Alvarado Munoz.

Read more: Costa Rica chooses new president in conservative country split over gay rights
• Preliminary results were published at 8:15 p.m. local time (0215 UTC on Monday) with 90.66 percent of polling stations counted.
• Electoral officials said there were no irregularities.
• Some 3.3 million people were eligible to vote.

Who is Carlos Alvarado? The 38-year-old is a political scientist and writer who served as labor and social security minister in the former center-left government. He was a candidate for the Citizens' Action Party.

Who is Fabricio Alvarado? The 43-year-old is an evangelical pastor and former TV newscaster and gospel singer who heads the conservative National Restoration Party.

What happened in the first round? Fabricio won 25 percent of the vote and Carlos 22 percent. Both men fell short of the 40 percent threshold to avoid a second round run-off vote.

Split opinions: Both took diametrically opposed stands on a January ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which urged member countries to recognize same-sex marriage. Carlos supported the ruling, while Fabricio opposed it, with the latter Alvarado threatening to remove Costa Rica from the court.

Who is being replaced? Carlos will replace former President Luis Guillermo Solis, a member of the Citizens' Action Party, who was elected in 2014. Solis' popularity fell during his time in office amid a corruption scandal and his strong support for gay rights.

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of news and features. You can sign up to receive it here.</s>SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Voters gave a resounding no to an upstart evangelical pastor who rose to political prominence by campaigning against same-sex marriage, allowing Costa Rica's governing party to win an easy presidential victory.

While polls had indicated Sunday's runoff would be tight, it was not even close. Carlos Alvarado, a novelist and former Cabinet minister running for the ruling Citizen Action Party, won by a wide margin.

The Supreme Electoral Council said that with 95 percent of ballots counted late Sunday, Carlos Alvarado had 60.8 percent of the votes, and evangelical Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration party had 39.2 percent. The two men are not related.

This combination of two photos shows Citizen Action Party presidential candidate Carlos Alvarado, left, on March 29, 2018, and National Restoration Party presidential candidate Fabricio Alvarado on Feb. 1, 2018, in San Jose, Costa Rica. A recent poll indicated a statistical tie in the second-round runoff April 1 vote between the two candidates. (Arnulfo Franco/AP Photos/File)</s>SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica’s governing party won a big presidential election victory Sunday as many voters rejected an evangelical pastor who had jumped into political prominence by campaigning against same-sex marriage.

The head of the Supreme Electoral Council, Luis Antonio Sobrado, said that with 90.6 percent of ballots counted Sunday night, Carlos Alvarado of the ruling Citizen Action Party had 60.6 percent of the votes in the runoff election. His opponent, Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration party, had 39.4 percent. The two men are not related.

Fabricio Alvarado rose from being a political unknown to the leading candidate in the election’s first round in February after he came out strongly against a call by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for Costa Rica to allow same-sex marriage.

Carlos Alvarado, a novelist and former labor minister who finished second in February to get the final spot in the runoff, spoke in favor of letting gays wed.

Recent opinion polls had said the candidates were running head-to-head going into the runoff, but in the end Carlos Alvarado had an easy win.

The two share similarities beyond their family name. Both have backgrounds in journalism and both have recorded music — Fabricio Alvarado as a gospel singer and Carlos Alvarado as a college-age rock `n’ roller.

Both candidates also had economic advisers who take a conservative approach to economics, favoring the free market and calling for a reduction in the size of government.

Voter Maria Rodriguez said she supported Carlos Alvarado because she rejected his rival’s homophobic discourse and does not believe the evangelical candidate was qualified to be president.

Rodrigo Lopez said Fabricio Alvarado was his choice because Costa Rica should maintain its traditional values and he is tired of the ruling party’s corruption.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The presidential candidate of the National Restoration Party, Fabricio Alvarado, Sunday acknowledged his loss in the second round presidential run-off vote, and congratulated his rival, Carlos Alvarado, for his overwhelming victory.

"I congratulate Carlos Alvarado, once I was given the results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, I called him, I gave him my congratulations and I told him that he can count on us to lead the Costa Rica that we all love," said Fabrico, adding "I send my respect and my love."
Pro-same-sex marriage candidate Carlos Alvarado of the Citizens' Action Party defeats conservative candidate Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration Party in the second round of voting to become the new President of Costa Rica.