1st LD: Evangelical leads in Costa Rica's presidential election

SAN JOSE, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Conservative Christian Fabricio Alvarado has taken an early lead in Costa Rica's presidential election on Sunday, said electoral authorities.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said Alvarado gained 26.3 percent of the vote, tailed by two rivals in a fierce and close competition.

Banana entrepreneur Antonio Alvarez of the mainstream National Liberation Party had 19.9 percent, and Carlos Alvarado, a journalist, of the governing Citizen's Action Party had 19.3 percent.

If no one in the 13-candidate arena wins at least 40 percent of the vote, a run-off election with the top two finishers is scheduled for early April.

Fabricio Alavarado, a journalist, preacher and Christian singer, recently vaulted into the top in opinion polls after he openly opposed same-sex marriage, which nearly two-thirds Costa Ricans also stand against. Enditem