Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica

Legislative Assembly

Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica
Legislative Assembly ; Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	8 November 1949
Preceded by	Constitutional Congress
Leadership
President	Rodrigo Arias Sánchez, PLN ; since 1 May 2022
Vice President	Vanessa de Paul Castro Mora, PUSC ; since 1 May 2025
First Secretary	Carlos Felipe García Molina, PUSC ; since 1 May 2024
Second Secretary	Gloria Navas Montero, Independent ; since 1 May 2025
Structure
Seats	57
Political groups	Government (8) PPSD (8); Opposition (49) PLN (18); PUSC (9); PNR (6); FA (6); PLP (2); PPSD (1); Independents (7);
Committees	6 ordinary standing Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee ; Economical Affairs Committee ; Government and Administration Committee ; Budget Affairs Committee ; Judicial Affairs Committee ; Social Affairs Committee; 14 special standing Honors Committee ; Municipal Affairs and Local Participatory Development Committee ; Law Drafting Committee ; International Relations and Foreign Trade Committee ; Constitutionality Consultations Committee ; Income and Public Spending Committee ; Security and Drug Trafficking Committee ; Women's Affairs Committee ; Youth, Childhood and Teenagers Committee ; Appointments Committee ; Environment Committee ; Tourism Committee ; Human Rights Committee ; Science, Technology and Education Committee;
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation; Modified Hare quota; Closed list
First election	4 October 1949
Last election	1 February 2026
Next election	By 2030
Meeting place
	Session room of the Asamblea Legislativa building
Website
	http://www.asamblea.go.cr/

The Legislative Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Legislativa) forms the unicameral legislative branch of the Costa Rican government. The national congress building is located in the capital city, San José, specifically in the Carmen district.

The Legislative Assembly is composed of 57 deputies (Spanish: diputados), who are elected by direct, universal, popular vote on a closed party list, proportional representation basis, by province, for four-year terms. A 1949 constitutional amendment prevents deputies from serving for two successive terms, though a deputy may run for an Assembly seat again after sitting out a term. As of March 2019, a proposal to switch to mixed-member proportional representation based on the German system is under discussion.