MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Costa Rica: Election Still In Deadlock

With only a few thousand votes separating the two frontrunners in Costa Rica's presidential election, authorities have announced a fresh manual recount of votes will be held, delaying the result for two weeks.

With 87 percent of votes counted, centrist candidate Oscar Arias, a former president, had 40.5 percent of the vote and his centre-left rival Otton Solis 40.3 percent, according to the head of the Supreme Electoral Council, Oscar Fonseca.

The gap between the two candidates is said to number just 3,648 votes.

The Solis camp has already said it would demand a recount if Mr Arias is declared the winner.

"Anything can happen, we will have to have a manual count of the papers and that could last up to two weeks," Mr Fonseca told reporters.

Only around 65 percent of Costa Rica's 2.5 million registered voters cast their ballots, in an apparent protest over corruption scandals that have rocked recent Costa Rican governments.

Mr Arias earlier promised a "dialogue" to overcome the nations divisions if he was elected.

"This is a polarised society and if I triumph, I will have to pay a lot of attention to the 50 percent of Costa Ricans who did not vote for me," he told reporters. But he said he would not claim victory until every vote is counted.

Mr Arias won the 1987 Nobel peace prize for his efforts to mediate in conflicts in Central America.

Analysts have described the race as the tightest in the region's history.

Mr Arias took an early lead in counting, but support for leftist Mr Solis gained pace. To win the presidency, a candidate needs to gain more than 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff vote.

If bother get more than 40 percent, the candidate with the higher number wins.