US EditionChile’s presidential race heads to a runoff between a communist and a pro-Trump conservative
- On Sunday, Chile's first‑round vote produced no outright winner, sending the presidential election to a December run‑off between Jeannette Jara, Communist Party candidate, and far‑right candidate José Antonio Kast.
- A divided right‑wing field helped shape the outcome, as several right‑wing candidates split conservative support and automatic voter registration and compulsory voting changed turnout.
- José Antonio Kast presents himself with hardline immigration and security plans, including a `border wall`, deportations, and new prisons, while Jara, a Communist Party member and former minister, proposes boosting lithium, raising wages, and deploying the army to borders.
- The outcome could directly affect at least 330,000 undocumented migrants, with the National Migration Service reaching more than 1.9 million people, as Chilean voters face the decisive run‑off.
- Chile's growing foreign population has made migration central to the contest, as the runoff’s ideological clash on immigration and security could reshape Chile’s appeal to migrants and its policies.
130 Articles
130 Articles
Jara and Kast advance to Chile's presidential runoff
Chile will head to a presidential runoff election on Dec. after leftist candidate Jeannette Jara edged conservative José Antonio Kast to secure the top two spots in Sunday's general election. The winner will succeed Gabriel Boric Font.
The left-wing candidate, Jeannette Jara, led the first round of the presidential elections with 26.9 per cent of the votes, but 70 per cent of the voters voted for one of the four right-wing and far-right candidates, including José Antonio Kast, who came second.
In Chile, in the presidential elections held on 16 November, no candidate was able to obtain more than 50 per cent of the votes required to win the first round.
Chile faces a crucial electoral crossroads. The country will have to define the presidency in four weeks, confronting two profoundly different political views.
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