Chile will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. Current president Gabriel Boric, according to the constitution, cannot run for a second term.
Eight candidates are running for the highest state office. According to polls, the main race will be between five politicians: Jeanette Jara, representing the ruling center-left coalition “United for Chile“, José Antonio Castom from the conservative Republican Party; Evelina Mattei from the center-right coalition “Chile, forward, horizons!“, Johannes Kaiser from the National Libertarian Party; and Franco Parisi of the center-right People's Party.
Chileans will also elect 23 senators and 155 members of parliament.
Jara, a member of the Chilean Communist Party, served as labor and social security minister in Boric's government. Her platform focuses on improving working conditions and supporting small businesses. Like other candidates, Jara, amid rising crime in Chile in recent years, has promised to take measures to improve security, including by modernizing the police force, building prisons, and deploying armed forces to protect borders and combat illegal migration.
Cast ran against Boric in the runoff election in December 2021, but lost by 11 percentage points. He promises to cut corporate taxes and government spending, and to strengthen border controls to combat illegal immigration.
Mattei served as labor and social security minister in the government of former President Sebastián Piñera. Her platform includes creating a military border police force, increasing funding for law enforcement, cutting corporate taxes, creating 1 million jobs, and reducing "inefficiently allocated public funds."
Kaiser is known for his more radical views than his rivals. He promises to eliminate several ministries, privatize the state-owned mining company Codelco, close the border with Bolivia, and build camps for illegal immigrants with the intention of deporting them.
Parisi finished third in the 2021 presidential election with 13% of the vote, despite campaigning entirely online from the United States, without even coming to Chile to vote. His platform includes proposals such as limiting government salaries and reducing or eliminating VAT on certain goods.
All candidates advocate maintaining a policy of openness to the global economy and pragmatic relations with other countries. At the same time, Kast and Kaiser, unlike their rivals, have openly declared their readiness to support a US military operation in Venezuela.
To win in the first round, a candidate needs an absolute majority of the vote. If none of the candidates achieves this result, a runoff will be held on December 14, in which the two candidates who received the most votes will qualify.
According to a Cadem poll published on October 26, Jara is leading the race with 30% of the vote. 22% were ready to support Casta, 15% Kaiser, 14% Matej and 12% Parisi. Polls also show that Jara is likely to lose in the runoff to any candidate on the right or from the center and right wing due to public dissatisfaction with the current government. Chileans cite deteriorating security, illegal migration and economic stagnation as the main problems.
Polling stations will be open from 8:00 a.m. local time to 6:00 p.m. Voting is compulsory in Chile.