The candidates Janette Jarafrom the left coalition, and Jose Antonio Kastfrom the ultra-right party, are leading the presidential elections in Chile with 52% of the ballots counted, according to information from the Electoral Service of the country (Servel).
More than 15 million voters were expected at the polls this Sunday (16) to choose who will occupy the country’s Presidency between 2026 and 2030.
In the election, the population also voted for deputies and senators.
This was the first presidential election in Chile since 2012 when voting was mandatory — anyone who did not vote is subject to a fine.
Security is the main focus of the candidates’ proposals after the homicide rate for every 100,000 inhabitants in the country almost tripled between 2015 and 2024.
As the increase in crime occurred in parallel with a migratory wave of Venezuelans, and the entry of the Trem de Arágua gang, born in prisons in Nicolás Maduro’s country, the topic is often linked to immigration.
Jeannette Jara, 51, is from the coalition government. She is the first communist candidate in Chile since the return of democracy to the country and enters the presidential election as the favorite in most opinion polls.
The ultra-right candidate José Antonio Kast, who has already run twice for President of Chile, is recovering in the polls with a hard-line platform against crime, appearing in second place in the surveys. Whoever wins the election will take office on March 11, 2026.
