The Communist Party candidate, Jeannette Jara, and the Republican representative, the ultra-conservative José Kast, will compete to become Chile’s president in a runoff on December 14. With 40% of the votes counted, his lead in the first round of the presidential election was considered “irreversible” by the majority of analysts. According to the official tally of the Election Service (Servel), Jara leads with 26.45% of preferences followed by Kast with 24.46%.
The big surprise was that third place went to populist candidate Franco Parisi with 18.62%, ahead of traditional right-wing candidate Evelyn Matthei and far-right Johannes Kaiser. The results show a clear trend towards the victory of Kast in the southern regions of Chile, Jara in the metropolitan areas, and Parisi in the northern constituencies. On the other hand, commentators highlight the overwhelming victory for the right-wing group, which despite being divided between the three candidates Kast, Kaiser and Matthei in the first round, has announced a regrouping with mutual support for the second round. Kast, a Pinochet sympathizer, is making his third attempt at office at the palace of ‘La Moneda’, and is now promising a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration, a document that is of major concern to all Chileans. Meanwhile Matthei admitted his defeat even before the final results were published and congratulated José Kast.
“Today there are other people who were called to continue the presidential candidacy,” said Matthei, whose only 27% of the seats counted and only 13.07% of the preferences made him almost no longer on the ballot. “I will meet José Kast’s election committee to personally congratulate him,” concluded Matthei.
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