Politics of Costa Rica - Executive Branch

Executive Branch

Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is elected directly by the voters, not by the National Assembly as it would be in a parliamentary system. There also are two vice presidents and the president's cabinet composed of his ministers . A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limits presidents and deputies to one term, although a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term. The prohibition was officially recognized as unconstitutional in April 2003, allowing Óscar Arias to run for President a second time in the 2006 Costa Rican presidential elections, which he won with approximately a 1% margin.

The President of Costa Rica has limited powers, particularly in comparison to other Latin American Presidents. For example, he or she cannot veto the legislative budget, and thus Congress is sovereign over the year's single most important piece of legislation. On the other hand, they can appoint anyone to their cabinet without any approval from Congress. This provides the single most important power versus Congress that any Costa Rican President has.