Costa Rican elections officials have formally declared Nobel Peace laureate Oscar Arias the country's president-elect.
Tuesday's announcement came more than a month after the election. Arias won the original vote by a very narrow margin, and a dispute over the results forced a manual recount.
After weeks of feuding, Arias' main rival - Otton Solis of the Citizens' Action Party - conceded defeat on Friday.
Mr. Arias supports free trade with the United States. Costa Rica, however, is the only country within the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, that has not yet ratified the agreement. CAFTA also comprises El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
