Santiago: Chileans voted for a new president and parliament on Sunday in a contest expected to favour the hard right as candidates play on popular fears over organised crime and immigration.
It’s the first of what’s likely to be two rounds of presidential elections in the South American country, as polls show none of the candidates clearing the 50 per cent threshold needed to avoid a runoff scheduled for Dec. 14.
On the surface, Sunday’s election offers Chileans a dramatic choice between two extremes: Jeannette Jara, 51, a card-carrying communist and former labour minister in the left-wing government, and, among other right-wing contenders, José Antonio Kast, 59, an ultraconservative lawyer and former lawmaker who opposes abortion and vows to shrink the state.
But with voters anxious about a rise in gang-driven crime that they blame on a recent surge of illegal immigration from crisis-stricken Venezuela, the campaign has steered the starkly opposed front-runners toward the shared theme of public insecurity. Polls opened at 8 am and closed at 6 pm, with results expected throughout the night.