Costa Rica's Chinchilla declares election victory

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica Feb 7 (Reuters) - Laura Chinchilla, a protege of Nobel peace laureate President Oscar Arias, declared victory in Costa Rica's election on Sunday, making her the country's first woman to be elected president.

Chinchilla, declared victory to cheers from her supporters after electoral officials said she won 49 percent of the vote -- double the scores of her two closest rivals and well above the threshold needed to avoid a second round -- after 60 percent of ballots had been counted. (Reporting by Leslie Josephs; Editing by Eric Beech)