Costa Ricans elect Chinchilla as first woman president

San Jose: Costa Ricans have elected their first woman president. The ruling party candidate won in a landslide after campaigning to continue free market policies in Central America's most stable nation.

With most of the votes from Sunday's election counted, Laura Chinchilla held a 22-point lead over her closest rival. Her 47 per cent share of the vote was well beyond the 40 per cent needed to avoid a run-off. The 50-year-old protégé of the current president Oscar Arias, promised to pursue the same economic policies that recently brought the country into a trade pact with the US and opened commerce with China.

"Today we are making history," said Chinchilla, who will be the fifth Latin American woman to serve as president.