Q&A: Chile votes

Santiago residents will have to vote again in January

Chileans went to the polls on Sunday 11 December to elect a new president and parliament.

The presidential vote produced no clear winner. Michelle Bachelet took nearly 46% of the vote, but that was short of the 50% needed to win outright.

To become Chile's first female president and the first woman to be elected president of a major Latin American country, she must beat second-placed Sebastian Pinera in a 15 January run-off.

The BBC News website looks into the election issues.

Q: How does Chile's political system work?

In line with constitutional reforms approved in August, the single presidential term has been cut from six years to four.

The reforms also abolished the nine Senate seats reserved for unelected members, along with the senator-for-life position.

This has reduced the number of Senate seats from 48 to 38, of which 20 are being contested this time. All 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies are up for grabs.

Q: Who can vote?

Chile has a population of 16.2 million (UN, 2005).

According to the Election Service, of these some 8.2 million are registered to vote.

More than half the electorate is female.

Voting is compulsory and, although enforcement tends to be weak, 7.3 million votes were cast in the 1999 elections.

Chileans living overseas are not entitled to vote.

Q: What are the main issues?

According to a Mori poll published in the national press on 9 September, almost half (48%) of those questioned viewed crime as an important issue in the campaign.

Unemployment (45%), health (35%), education (17%), and poverty (17%) also ranked high.

Q: Who is likely to win?

Four candidates stood for president.

Opinion polls during the campaign have suggested Michelle Bachelet would likely triumph in any run-off scenario.

Her party, the centre-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy, has governed Chile since 1990.

Challenging her from the right is billionaire former senator Sebastian Pinera, who took nearly 26% in the first round.

Joaquin Lavin was knocked out after coming in third with 23%, and has offered his support to Mr Pinera.

Tomas Hirsch, a Humanist, took only 5% of the vote. 

Q: What are the two candidates' key pledges?

Under President Ricardo Lagos, Chile has enjoyed a period of economic growth and stability unparalleled in the region.

There has also been some progress in investigations into human rights abuses under the former military regime.

Michelle Bachelet


Ms Bachelet is the frontrunner

The daughter of an Air Force general tortured and killed after the 1973 coup that brought former military leader Augusto Pinochet to power, Ms Bachelet has campaigned on issues such as gender equality, pension reform, pre-school education and lowering the age for pensioners' health benefits.

She has been health minister and defence minister.

She is promising greater regional trade integration, streamlined procedures for opening and closing businesses, constitutional recognition of the Mapuche indigenous people, reform of the criminal code and tightening environmental laws.

Political commentators say she has benefited from the economic growth and stability achieved under the Lagos administration. Nevertheless, she has sought to distance herself from key areas of government policy in light of public concern over crime and unemployment.

Sebastian Pinera


Mr Pinera is a prominent businessman

The centre-right vote was split in May when Harvard-educated Sebastian Pinera entered the race. He later rejected Mr Lavin's proposal to hold primaries to choose a single candidate for the Alliance for Chile.

A prominent businessman, he seeks to present himself as the candidate of the modern right, in contrast with the Lavin camp's links to pro-Pinochet factions.

To combat crime, Mr Pinera says he wants to modernise the national police force, lower the age of criminal liability and increase penalties for repeat offenders.

He also plans to forge a "strategic alliance" with Washington and strengthen co-operation with the European Union, promoting Chile as an investment platform in the region.

Q: When will the results be announced?

Results from the second round of voting on 15 January are likely to be announced within hours of polls closing.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad.