TSE replaces council member in San Carlos following resignation of Artavia González

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal canceled the credential of the proprietary council member for the district of La Palmera, canton of San Carlos, province of Alajuela, held by Sofía Artavia González, and appointed Daniel Vega Aguilar in her place. The decision is contained in resolution No. 9775-M-2026, signed in San José at 9:45 hours on October 30, 2026, and published in La Gaceta No. 213 on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, page 54, within file No. 343-2026.

The process was activated after the Municipal Council of San Carlos, through official letter No. MSCCM SC-1943-2026 dated October 14, 2026, informed the Tribunal that in the ordinary session of October 12, 2026, it acknowledged the resignation of Artavia González from her position as proprietary council member and provided a copy of the resignation letter. The council secretary, Ana Patricia Solís Rojas, was the one who submitted the information to the electoral body.

The resolution is based on Article 56 of the Municipal Code, which empowers members of District Councils to resign at any time and attributes the substitution to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and Article 208 of the Electoral Code, which orders the vacancy to be filled by the non-elected candidacy from the list proposed by the party.

Proven facts and the vacancy

The Tribunal found it proven that Sofía Artavia González was elected as proprietary council member of La Palmera through resolution No. 2459-E11-2024, at 13:50 hours on March 18, 2024; that she was proposed by the party Aquí Costa Rica Manda (PACRM) and that she submitted her resignation, which was acknowledged by the municipal council in October.

The cancellation of the credential created a vacancy that, according to Article 208 of the Electoral Code, had to be filled by the non-elected candidacy from the PACRM list for the district’s proprietary council positions. Daniel Vega Aguilar, holder of identity card No. 110120569, falls under this assumption.

Vega Aguilar assumes office until April 2028

Resolution 9775-M-2026 appoints Daniel Vega Aguilar as proprietary council member of La Palmera and specifies that the appointment is effective from his swearing-in until April 30, 2028. The Tribunal ordered the decision to be notified to:

• Sofía Artavia González, whose credential is canceled.
• Daniel Vega Aguilar, new proprietary council member.
• The Municipal Council of San Carlos.
• The District Council of La Palmera.

Likewise, it ordered that note be taken of what is indicated in recital IV and that the resolution be published in the Official Gazette. The document is signed by the presiding magistrate Eugenia María Zamora Chavarría and by magistrates Max Alberto Esquivel Faerron —drafter— and Mary Anne Mannix Arnold, and appears registered under reference IN202601138193.

Warning regarding the alternate councilwoman

In an additional consideration, the Court addressed the report from the district’s proprietary syndic, Lourdes Rocío Alvarado Alpízar, who pointed out that the alternate councilwoman Paola Alejandra Villalobos Navarro “never attended the sessions of the Palmera District Council.”

Therefore, the resolution warns the Secretariat of the Municipal Council of San Carlos to certify whether Villalobos Navarro took the oath of office for the representative position she holds. In the event that she was not sworn in, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal will process, in a separate file, the cancellation of her credentials due to presumed resignation, “as is customary in these types of matters.”

The substitution ordered in file No. 343-2026 modifies the composition of the La Palmera District Council just over a year after the 2024 municipal elections, as the seat held by a figure elected by the PACRM now passes to a candidate who had not been elected on the same slate. For the district’s residents, the change implies a new proprietary representation in the council’s decisions until the end of the term in April 2028, in addition to opening the possibility that the situation of the alternate council seat also be reviewed.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 213 of November 10, 2026, Resolutions section, page 54 (official reference: No. 9775-M-2026).