2018 Costa Rican Presidential Election Run-Off - Centre-left, pro-gay marriage candidate wins Costa Rica election

The centre-left's Carlos Alvarado Quesada decisively defeated a conservative Protestant singer in Costa Rica's presidential runoff election on Sunday April 01,2018 by promising to allow gay marriage, protecting the country's reputation for tolerance.

A former minister and fiction writer, Quesada, 38, had 61 percent of the vote with results in from 95 percent of polling stations, a far bigger lead than predicted by opinion polls that foresaw a tight race

Alvarado Quesada, until recently a minister in the outgoing government, will be the youngest president in the modern history of Costa Rica when he takes office in May.

Also known for his student prog-rock band, he used the campaign to appeal to his country's centrist streak.

His vice presidential candidate, Epsy Campbell, will be the country's first Afro-Costa Rican to serve in that role.