Above: Luis Guillermo Solis (Photo: Roberto Carlos Sanchez)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Opposition candidate Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera has won Costa Rica’s presidential elections.

Solis, a former Professor who leads the Citizens’ Action Party in Costa Rica, will succeed outgoing President Laura Chinchilla.

After defeating San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya in the first round of presidential voting, Solis took the run-off vote with little challenge and more than 70 percent of the vote.

“Never forget that this is the people who decided to change,” Solis said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Leaders from around the Caribbean Basin sent in their congratulations to Solis, including Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina, who sent a letter Solis on Monday.

Medina said he was confident in the growth of trade and cultural relations between the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, including a “renewed commitment to the multilateral exchanges in our region through the Central American Integration System, in which we have invested many hopes.”

The United States also issued a statement congratulating Solis, citing the “long history” between the United States and Costa Rica.

“We stand ready to build on those common values with the Solis administration in the years to come,” the US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

Costa Rica’s presidents serve for a four-year term.