Costa Ricans have elected their first woman president as the ruling party candidate won in a landslide after campaigning to continue free market policies in Central America's most stable nation.

With most of the votes from Sunday's election counted, Laura Chinchilla held a 22-point lead over her closest rival. Her 47 per cent share of the vote was well beyond the 40 per cent needed to avoid a run-off.

The 50-year-old protege of the current president, Oscar Arias, promised to pursue the same economic policies that recently brought Costa rica into a trade pact with the US and opened commerce with China.

Original source: The Canadian Press