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Chile Runoff Set as Jara and Kast Court Parisi’s Pivotal Voters

Swift right‑wing endorsements give Kast an early edge, with Parisi’s uncommitted base likely to decide the race.

Overview

  • Official tallies put Jeannette Jara at about 26.8% and José Antonio Kast at roughly 23.9%, sending both to a December 14 runoff after very high turnout under compulsory voting.
  • Kast quickly secured backing from Johannes Kaiser and Evelyn Matthei, whose combined first‑round vote share was about 26%, as the right also notched 76 of 178 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
  • Franco Parisi finished near 19.7% and withheld an endorsement, pressing both campaigns to adopt proposals such as eliminating VAT on medicines and cutting politicians’ pay, with analysts warning his support is hard to transfer.
  • Jara moved to broaden her coalition and stressed a tougher security agenda—proposing to lift bank secrecy to pursue organized crime—while labeling Kast “authoritarian”; Kast doubled down on law‑and‑order and strict migration controls, campaigned in La Araucanía, and welcomed wider support.
  • Argentina’s government said it will not issue a formal endorsement for Kast even as some officials praised his result and President Javier Milei amplified those messages, and Chile’s President Gabriel Boric lauded the orderly vote and urged a respectful runoff debate.