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Partial researchResearch snapshot 2026-09-13. Evidence gaps remain; see Coverage for requirements.

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Office briefing

SANTIAGO — Syndic and district council — shared ballot

Tracked current office. Identifiers stay separate from display names.

Costa Rica · SANTIAGO / HEREDIA · other · Syndic and district council — shared ballotCR-D-HEREDIA-SAN-RAFAEL-SANTIAGO

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TSE vote books joined to official elected-member declarations where geographic and total checks reconcile. Substitutes retained separately. Subsequent replacements and current officeholder status require review.

1. What office, where, and when is the next election?

Geography
SANTIAGO / HEREDIA
Next election
2028-02-06
Linked upcoming event
next-e1fead51ba2f77f25e227c2f
Registry qualification
Unknown

2. How certain is that date?

2028-02-06 is expected (not formally called). Day precision. A date without a formal call is not confirmed.

3. Who won earlier selected elections?

2024-02-04

Ordinary · Legal certification not established · list votes

  • BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑO40.2%
  • LIBERACIÓN NACIONAL30.3%
  • UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANA22.9%
  • LIBERAL PROGRESISTA6.6%
Results for event-7d4e5034e75234fdf7ed919b
Label / candidateParty codeVotesShareSeatsStatus
BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOcosta-rica/Sc1df243471/202480740.2%3Recorded
LIBERACIÓN NACIONALcosta-rica/Sc1df243471/202460830.3%1Recorded
UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAcosta-rica/Sc1df243471/202446022.9%1Recorded
LIBERAL PROGRESISTAcosta-rica/Sc1df243471/20241336.6%0 (recorded zero)Recorded

2020-02-02

Ordinary · Legal certification not established · list votes

  • LIBERACIÓN NACIONAL41.0%
  • UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANA23.7%
  • FRENTE AMPLIO11.7%
  • ACCIÓN CIUDADANA8.7%
  • NUEVA REPÚBLICA6.9%
  • UNIDOS PODEMOS6.4%
  • REPUBLICANO SOCIAL CRISTIANO1.6%
Results for event-e3ef538e5c041a25972f69b7
Label / candidateParty codeVotesShareSeatsStatus
LIBERACIÓN NACIONALcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/202085041%3Recorded
UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/202049223.7%1Recorded
FRENTE AMPLIOcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/202024211.7%1Recorded
ACCIÓN CIUDADANAcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/20201818.7%0 (recorded zero)Recorded
NUEVA REPÚBLICAcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/20201446.9%0 (recorded zero)Recorded
UNIDOS PODEMOScosta-rica/Sfa91292290/20201326.4%0 (recorded zero)Recorded
REPUBLICANO SOCIAL CRISTIANOcosta-rica/Sfa91292290/2020341.6%0 (recorded zero)Recorded

2016-02-07

Ordinary · Legal certification not established · list votes

  • LIBERACIÓN NACIONAL46.7%
  • ACCIÓN CIUDADANA14.8%
  • FRENTE AMPLIO14.5%
  • UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANA9.6%
  • MOVIMIENTO LIBERTARIO7.3%
  • REPUBLICANO SOCIAL CRISTIANO7.0%
Results for event-edcd1ed48c99e7e988c8ab8c
Label / candidateParty codeVotesShareSeatsStatus
LIBERACIÓN NACIONALcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/201683346.7%3Recorded
ACCIÓN CIUDADANAcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/201626414.8%1Recorded
FRENTE AMPLIOcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/201625914.5%1Recorded
UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/20161729.6%0 (recorded zero)Recorded
MOVIMIENTO LIBERTARIOcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/20161317.3%0 (recorded zero)Recorded
REPUBLICANO SOCIAL CRISTIANOcosta-rica/S79669f3e5d/20161247%0 (recorded zero)Recorded

4. Competition and volatility

competition index

Provisional imported-series CI

28.430–100 historical closeness

Actual-event and/or comparability review incomplete

Comparison status: Provisional imported-series comparison; actual-event review open

Method ci.weighted-gap.v1. Inputs: latest_gap=9.910358565737049, oldest_gap=31.9125070106562, previous_gap=17.25301204819277

pedersen volatility

Provisional volatility

40.45percentage points

Grouped Pedersen lower bound (percentage points). Twelve explicitly named standalone national parties; accent variants normalized. Local parties and coalitions remain Other. No alliance votes are attributed to individual member parties. An interval is withheld if either election has no list mapped to an explicit named group. This is aggregate share change, not individual voter switching. Event review: Actual-event and/or comparability review incomplete

Comparison status: Latest interval

Method pedersen.grouped.v1. Inputs: groups=["PLN","PUSC","PAC","Frente Amplio","PRN","Nueva Republica","PML","PIN","PASE","PRSC","PLP","PPSD","Other"], interval=Latest interval, vectors=[[30.278884462151396,22.90836653386454,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6.623505976095617,0,40.189243027888445],[40.963855421686745,23.710843373493976,8.72289156626506,11.662650602409638,0,6.9397590361445785,0,0,0,1.6385542168674698,0,0,6.36144578313253],[46.71901289960741,9.646662927650029,14.806505888951206,14.526079641054404,0,0,7.3471676948962426,0,0,6.954570947840718,0,0,0]]

pedersen volatility

Provisional volatility

27.37percentage points

Grouped Pedersen lower bound (percentage points). Twelve explicitly named standalone national parties; accent variants normalized. Local parties and coalitions remain Other. No alliance votes are attributed to individual member parties. An interval is withheld if either election has no list mapped to an explicit named group. This is aggregate share change, not individual voter switching. Event review: Actual-event and/or comparability review incomplete

Comparison status: Previous interval

Method pedersen.grouped.v1. Inputs: groups=["PLN","PUSC","PAC","Frente Amplio","PRN","Nueva Republica","PML","PIN","PASE","PRSC","PLP","PPSD","Other"], interval=Previous interval, vectors=[[30.278884462151396,22.90836653386454,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6.623505976095617,0,40.189243027888445],[40.963855421686745,23.710843373493976,8.72289156626506,11.662650602409638,0,6.9397590361445785,0,0,0,1.6385542168674698,0,0,6.36144578313253],[46.71901289960741,9.646662927650029,14.806505888951206,14.526079641054404,0,0,7.3471676948962426,0,0,6.954570947840718,0,0,0]]

pedersen volatility

Provisional volatility

33.91percentage points

Grouped Pedersen lower bound (percentage points). Twelve explicitly named standalone national parties; accent variants normalized. Local parties and coalitions remain Other. No alliance votes are attributed to individual member parties. An interval is withheld if either election has no list mapped to an explicit named group. This is aggregate share change, not individual voter switching. Event review: Actual-event and/or comparability review incomplete

Comparison status: Both intervals mean

Method pedersen.grouped.v1. Inputs: groups=["PLN","PUSC","PAC","Frente Amplio","PRN","Nueva Republica","PML","PIN","PASE","PRSC","PLP","PPSD","Other"], interval=Both intervals mean, vectors=[[30.278884462151396,22.90836653386454,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6.623505976095617,0,40.189243027888445],[40.963855421686745,23.710843373493976,8.72289156626506,11.662650602409638,0,6.9397590361445785,0,0,0,1.6385542168674698,0,0,6.36144578313253],[46.71901289960741,9.646662927650029,14.806505888951206,14.526079641054404,0,0,7.3471676948962426,0,0,6.954570947840718,0,0,0]]

Source-reported control: Unverified. Current tenure requires separate dated evidence.

5. Officeholder evidence

Dated roster observations are not automatically current tenure. The source current-office flag means this office is tracked now, not that the last winner still holds it.

Officeholder observations
PersonRoleAs ofAffiliationPrincipal?
GERARDO FERNANDEZ ELIZONDOSINDICATURAS PROPIETARIO2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOprincipal
ANGELA HERNANDEZ VILLALOBOSSINDICATURAS SUPLENTE2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOsubstitute
VICTOR ANTONIO VARGAS VARGASCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIAS2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOprincipal
AMY THOMAS OCAMPOCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIAS2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOprincipal
EUNICE GUTIERREZ GUTIERREZCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIAS2024LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
LEONARDO GERARDO FERNANDEZ SANCHEZCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIAS2024UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAprincipal
ESTEBAN GERARDO FERNANDEZ ROMANCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOsubstitute
ANA PATRICIA SABORIO VILLALOBOSCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2024BIENESTAR RAFAELEÑOsubstitute
KAROL PATRICIA CASTILLO MARTINEZCONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2024LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
VILMA SHIRLENY BARQUERO UMAÑACONCEJALÍAS DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2024UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAsubstitute
CINDY OVIEDO RODRIGUEZSÍNDICOS(AS) PROPIETARIA2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
BRYAN BOLIVAR VARGAS RETANASÍNDICOS(AS) SUPLENTE2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
ANA CRISTINA ACUÑA ARGUEDASCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
JUAN CARLOS GARITA PEÑARANDACONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
JOAQUIN CAMPOS BENAVIDESCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2020UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAprincipal
ROXANA MARIA CALDERON OBALDIACONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2020FRENTE AMPLIOprincipal
JENNIFER MELISSA FERNANDEZ ACUÑACONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
CARLOS EDUARDO FERNANDEZ ESQUIVELCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2020LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
JUAN PABLO MONTERO CHAVESCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2020UNIDAD SOCIAL CRISTIANAsubstitute
ALVARO ALFREDO CHAMORRO MONGECONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2020FRENTE AMPLIOsubstitute
VERA CRUZ HERNANDEZ CAMPOSSÍNDICOS(AS) PROPIETARIA2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
JUAN ROJAS ARGUEDASSÍNDICOS(AS) SUPLENTE2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
MELISSA MARIA CHAVES SANCHEZCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
GONZALO ANIBAL VEGA MONTEROCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALprincipal
ZULEMA VARGAS PICADOCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2016ACCIÓN CIUDADANAprincipal
MARIBEL SANCHEZ CALVOCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO PROPIETARIOS(AS)2016FRENTE AMPLIOprincipal
OLGA MARY SALAZAR CALVOCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
SANTIAGO LOPEZ BRIANSOCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2016LIBERACIÓN NACIONALsubstitute
MALAQUIAS GERARDO GONZALEZ CABEZASCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2016ACCIÓN CIUDADANAsubstitute
LOREIN POWELL BENARDCONCEJALES DE DISTRITO SUPLENTES2016FRENTE AMPLIOsubstitute

6. Polling context

No local poll supplied.

7. Unresolved issues and sources

  • other · open

    Published province heading correction: {"issue": "Published province heading correction", "year": 2020, "area": "Heredia", "source_id": "S41377daad8", "resolution": "The amendment corrects CARTAGO to HEREDIA in the second table heading. It changes no votes, winners or seats; the original declaration is joined to Heredia."}

Sources

Cite this record

Center for Digital Democracy. “SANTIAGO — Syndic and district council — shared ballot.” Subnational Election Observatory, releaselatin-america-fe5e91689def, snapshot 2026-09-13. /electiondatabase/offices/CR-D-HEREDIA-SAN-RAFAEL-SANTIAGO. Sources: costa-rica--url-ae6cfb21525f974d8912a00e, costa-rica--url-9b0bf8940eb485b811da317e, costa-rica--url-f8a1e09c9e89a7e5e9c55114, costa-rica--Sc1df243471, costa-rica--S202e3bbb63, costa-rica--Sfa91292290, costa-rica--S2f97ba6170, costa-rica--S79669f3e5d, costa-rica--Sfefc16a912.