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\n Presidential candidate Laura Fern\u00e1ndez addresses supporters after polls closed in San Jos\u00e9, Costa Rica, Sunday.
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Carlos Borbon\/AP<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Carlos Borbon\/AP<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n SAN JOSE, Costa Rica \u2014 Conservative populist Laura Fern\u00e1ndez won Costa Rica’s presidency, promising to continue the aggressive reorienting of the Central American nation’s politics started by her political sponsor, outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves.<\/p>\n Preliminary and partial results showed the Costa Rican president’s handpicked successor captured the win with a resounding first-round victory, eliminating the need for a runoff in a crowded field after Sunday’s election.<\/p>\n The Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported that with votes from 96.8% of polling places tallied, Fern\u00e1ndez of the Sovereign People’s Party had 48.3% of the vote. Her closest challenger was economist \u00c1lvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party with 33.4%.<\/p>\n