Costa Rica is heading for a presidential runoff in April, after candidates failed to get enough votes to win Sunday's election.
The issue of same-sex marriage has dominated the campaign and polarised the country after a court ruled that such alliances should be recognised in the country.
But the decision led to a backlash and saw conservative Christian preacher Fabricio Alvarado become the most popular presidential candidate.
Al Jazeera's Alessandro Rampietti reports.