TSE cancels the credential of Carrillo's second deputy mayor due to resignation

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) canceled the credential of second vice-mayor of the Municipality of Carrillo, province of Guanacaste, held by Carlos Eduardo Céspedes Orozco, after the municipal council acknowledged his resignation. The decision was adopted through resolution No. 8252-M-2026, case file No. 290-2026, signed at 9:30 hours on September 26, 2026, and published in La Gaceta No. 185 on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The Tribunal further specified that the vacancy left by the official is not to be filled, as current regulations do not provide for the appointment of a replacement for that position.

The origin of the case file

The case reached the TSE via official letter No. MC-SCM-1073-2026 dated September 8, 2026, sent by Sofía Lorena Dávila Briceño, assistant to the Municipal Council of Carrillo, in which it was reported that said body, in ordinary session No. 87-2026 on September 1, 2026, acknowledged the resignation of Céspedes Orozco from the position of second vice-mayor. A copy of the official’s resignation letter was sent along with the agreement.

The proven facts of the resolution establish that:

• Céspedes Orozco was elected second vice-mayor of the Municipality of Carrillo through resolution No. 2159-E11-2024 at 9:30 hours on March 8, 2024.
• He was nominated by the Social Democratic Progress party (PPSD).
• He submitted his resignation from the position, and the municipal council acknowledged it in the ordinary session on September 1, 2026.

The Tribunal’s criteria on the vacancy

The TSE recalled that, although vice-mayors are popularly elected, the law expressly provides that they may resign from their position, according to the final paragraph of Article 19 of the Municipal Code. That regulation stipulates that if both vice-mayors are removed or resign, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal must call for new elections in the respective canton within a maximum period of six months, and the appointment shall be for the remainder of the term.

In the analysis of the case, the Tribunal cited its own resolution No. 1296-M-2011 from 13:15 hours on March 3, 2011, which indicated that, in the event of a definitive absence of the first vice-mayor, the second shall assume the position “without providing for their substitution.” Based on that criterion, it concluded that regarding the vacancy left by Céspedes Orozco as second vice-mayor, “no designation is appropriate,” given that current regulations do not provide for the substitution of that post.

Legal basis and effects of the resolution

The cancellation is based on Article 25, subsection b) of the Municipal Code and Article 257 of the Electoral Code. The latter establishes that it is not necessary to follow the administrative procedure when the cancellation is declared due to the resignation of the official, previously known by the municipal council; in such a case, the municipal body must send the original or a certified copy of the resignation letter and the agreement in which it pronounces itself on the matter.

The resolution was drafted by Magistrate Max Alberto Esquivel Faerron and also signed by Mary Anne Mannix Arnold and Wendy de los Ángeles González Araya. The TSE ordered the decision to be notified to Céspedes Orozco and the Municipal Council of Carrillo, and published in the Official Gazette.

The decision leaves the canton of Carrillo without a second vice-mayor until the end of the term, with no possibility of appointing a substitute, and establishes an express criterion on the scope of the resignation of municipal vice-mayors: the position is extinguished upon resignation and does not generate a chain of replacements. For the residents of the canton, the practical effect is that the functions reserved by law for the second vice-mayor can only be assumed in the cases of mayor substitution provided for in the Municipal Code, without there being a designated holder for the vacant position.

Source: La Gaceta No. 185, Thursday, October 1, 2026, Supreme Electoral Tribunal section (Resolutions), p. 86 (official reference: IN202601127293).