2021 Chilean General Election
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General elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
were held in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
on 21 November 2021, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. Voters went to the polls to elect a
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
to serve a four-year term, 27 of 50 members of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
to serve an eight-year term, all 155 members of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
to serve a four-year term and all 302 members of the regional boards to serve a three-year term. Following an electoral reform in 2015, the Senate increased its membership from 38 to 43 in 2017 and grew to its full size of 50 seats after this election. Despite narrowly trailing conservative candidate
José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He is running for president in the 2025 Chilean general election, for the third time. Part of the prominent Kast family, he se ...
in the first round of the presidential election, leftist candidate
Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean politician and the President of Chile since 2022. He previously served two four-year terms as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies. Boric first gained prom ...
emerged as the winner of the second round with 56% of the vote, a larger margin than predicted by opinion polls. Kast conceded defeat shortly after voting ended. At the age of 35, Boric became the youngest president ever elected in Chile and also set a record for receiving the highest number of votes in Chilean history. The turnout in the second round increased to 56%, the highest since voting became voluntary in Chile in 2013. In the parliamentary elections the center-right coalition
Chile Podemos Más (Spanish for "Let's go Chile") is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing political coalition of three political parties in Chile. The coalition was created on 29 January 2015 by the general secretaries of the Ind ...
remained the largest bloc in both chambers and increased their number of senators, despite seeing their vote share fall by more than 10 percentage points compared to the previous election. On the left, the new coalition Apruebo Dignidad saw gains at the expense of the center-left
New Social Pact New Social Pact ( , NPS) was a Chilean Centre politics, centre to Centre-left politics, centre-left political coalition established on 23 August 2021 in order to participate in the 2021 Chilean general election, presidential and parliamentary elect ...
(NPS), becoming the second largest bloc in the Chamber of Deputies. However, NPS won more seats in the Senate. New parties, including the far-right Republican Party and the populist Party of the People, also gained several seats. Consequently, the newly elected Congress was split evenly between the combined left and right, with the non-aligned congresspeople holding the balance of power. On 11 March 2022 all the newly elected authorities, including president-elect Boric, took office.


Analysis

The 2021 Chilean election cycle was notable for its polarization, representing a departure from the country's political normality. Against the backdrop of the
2019 protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...
, the writing of a new constitution, and the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the dominant center-left and center-right coalitions that had ruled the country since the end of the
military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...
experienced a significant drop in support in the elections for
mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
,
governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, and members of the Constitutional Convention held on May 15 and 16. In the subsequent presidential election, candidates from the traditional centrist coalitions finished in fourth and fifth place, while two candidates from newly formed parties and coalitions, Kast and Boric, qualified for the second round. This represented a departure from the country's political history, which had repeatedly seen power bounce between center-right and center-left parties with little structural movement between presidents. The desire for change among voters led them to reject the traditional political parties and support candidates from new parties. Kast of the far-right Republican Party ran a campaign on populist and Christian conservative values, emphasizing "law and order" and drawing comparisons with former US president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and Brazilian president
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
. In contrast, Boric, a member of the left-wing coalition, campaigned on a progressive message reflecting the ideas behind the 2019 protests. He advocated for broadening the social safety net, higher taxes on the wealthy, combating climate change, social justice, and change to the current privatized pension system. Boric also supported the ongoing writing of a new Chilean constitution, while Kast repeatedly said he would interfere to stop its ratification if elected.


Electoral system

The President is elected using the
two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held. The 50 members of the Senate are elected for eight-year terms, with around half of the Senators renewed at each general election. Senators are elected from 16 multi-member constituencies of between two and five seats based on the
regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. Seats are filled by party list
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
. Each voter votes for one party list or list of a coalition. Seats are allocated by the
d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...
.The 2021 elections saw 27 members elected, representing the regions of
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...
, Biobío,
Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, Chile, La S ...
, O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Ríos, Magallanes and
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...
. (Vacancies of seats arising between general elections are filled by a person selected by the same party.)https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3607/ In the National Congress, the 155 members of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
are elected from 28 multi-member constituencies with between three and eight seats by party list
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
. Each voter votes for one party list or list of a coalition. Seats are allocated by the
d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...
. (Vacancies of seats arising between general elections are filled by a person selected by the same party.)


Presidential candidates


Summary of candidates

Below is the list of candidacies for president accepted by the Electoral Service on 27 August 2021. Boric's and Sichel's candidacies were automatically accepted after they were proclaimed the winner of their respective primaries by the Election Court.


Apruebo Dignidad

The coalition decided its presidential candidate in the publicly-funded primaries held nationwide on 18 July 2021, won by lawmaker
Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean politician and the President of Chile since 2022. He previously served two four-year terms as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies. Boric first gained prom ...
with 60% of the vote. On 17 March 2021, Boric's party,
Social Convergence The Social Convergence (, CS) was a left-wing political party in Chile. Founded by current Chilean president Gabriel Boric, it is now led by Diego Ibáñez. It was co-founded in 2018 by the Autonomist Movement (MA), Libertarian Left (IL) (a ...
, proclaimed him as its presidential candidate. The
Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
Party's leadership also announced on 17 March 2021 that it would propose Boric as its presidential candidate in a meeting of the party's leadership the following Saturday. On 23 March 2021, Democratic Revolution, the coalition's largest party, proclaimed Boric as its presidential candidate. On 29 May 2021, the Common Force movement gave its support to Boric, after he beat Marcelo Díaz in a plebiscite held on May 27–28. On 17 August 2021, the Acción Humanista movement proclaimed him as its candidate.


Defeated in primary

* Daniel Jadue ( PC): Jadue is the mayor of Recoleta and a member of the Communist Party of Chile. He studied sociology at the
University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
, and also studied
total quality management Total quality management (TQM) is an organization-wide effort to "install and make a permanent climate where employees continuously improve their ability to provide on-demand products and services that customers will find of particular value." ...
at the Catholic University of the North. He appeared as the candidate with the most support in several opinion polls.


Dropped out

* Marcelo Díaz ( Unir): In November 2020 the Unir Movement presented the deputy and former spokesman as pre-candidate. On 18 May 2021 he dropped out of the race and lent his support to Boric. * Jaime Mulet ( FRVS): The current president of the FRVS and deputy was proclaimed as his party's presidential candidate in September 2020. In May 2021, he received the support of the Christian Left movement. On 8 July 2021, the FRVS chose to support the candidacy of Daniel Jadue.


Chile Podemos Más

The center-right coalition (previously ) participated in the publicly-funded primaries held nationwide on 18 July 2021. Former minister Sebastián Sichel beat the other three candidates by 49% of the vote. Sichel was minister of Social Development and president of BancoEstado during the second administration of President
Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...
. He participated as an independent candidate in the primary, supported by former PDC supporters and other centrist political movements.


Defeated in primary

* Ignacio Briones ( Evópoli): Briones is a university professor and economist who served as minister of Finance between 2019 and 2021. He was unanimously proclaimed by the Political Evolution party as their presidential candidate on 30 January 2021. He describes himself as a
social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
and seeks to promote liberal policies, although he is against abortion. *
Mario Desbordes Mario Guillermo Desbordes Jiménez (born 15 October 1968) is a Chilean people, Chilean politician and former police officer of Carabineros de Chile who is the mayor-elect of the Santiago (commune), commune of Santiago. He also was Ministry of De ...
( RN): Desbordes became minister of Defense in July 2020. Before that, he was a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
. He was also president of his party between 2018 and 2020 and secretary-general between 2010 and 2018. During the first administration of President
Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...
, he had a stint as undersecretary of Investigations. He was proclaimed by the PRI party as their candidate on 29 December 2020. On 23 January 2021 his own party, RN, chose him as their contender for the primary race after winning nearly 73% of the vote of the General Council. *
Joaquín Lavín Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiag ...
( UDI): Lavín studied economics at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
. He was a presidential candidate in the
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
elections. He was also an economic appraiser of the
neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
policies of Chile's
military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...
. As mayor of Las Condes he actively promoted social housing programs for the poor and social integration with the rest of the cities, as well as enlarged use of technology in law enforcement and moderate social policies. He appeared as the candidate with the most support in most opinion polls.


Did not run

*
Evelyn Matthei Evelyn Rose Matthei Fornet (born 11 November 1953) is a Chilean politician, who served as mayor of Providencia, Chile, Providencia, a commune in Santiago, from 2016 to 2024. She previously served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, C ...
( UDI): Matthei is a right-wing politician. She studied at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile; ) is a traditional private university based in Santiago, Chile. It is one of the thirteen Catholic universities existing in Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical univ ...
. In 1993 she was the target of a scheme by Sebastián Piñera to prevent her from becoming a candidate for the presidency that year. She was a senator and candidate in Chile's presidential elections in 2013, losing to
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
, the
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
candidate. She dropped out of the race on 17 May 2021, a day after being re-elected as mayor of Providencia.


New Social Pact

Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...
Senator Yasna Provoste won the primary election held by the
New Social Pact New Social Pact ( , NPS) was a Chilean Centre politics, centre to Centre-left politics, centre-left political coalition established on 23 August 2021 in order to participate in the 2021 Chilean general election, presidential and parliamentary elect ...
center-left coalition (formerly Constituent Unity) on August 21, 2021, with over 60% of the vote and a turnout of around 150,000. On May 30, 2021, Provoste had expressed her willingness to compete if her party deemed it necessary. She officially launched her candidacy on July 23, 2021, during a ceremony in her hometown of
Vallenar Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region, Chile. It is the capital of the Huasco Province and is located in the valley of the Huasco River. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as ...
, in northern Chile. On August 17, 2021, the Christian Democratic Party proclaimed her as their candidate. The other primary candidates, Paula Narváez and Carlos Maldonado, urged the need for a primary to determine a single candidate after the coalition failed to come to an agreement to participate in the national publicly-funded primaries held on July 18, 2021.


Defeated in primary

* Carlos Maldonado ( PR): The former minister of Justice and current president of the Radical Party was proclaimed as presidential candidate on 23 December 2020. On 20 May 2021 he announced he would go straight to the November election. On July 3, 2021, he backtracked on his decision and declared himself available to compete in a possible coalition primary. *
Paula Narváez Paula Narváez Ojeda (born 22 May 1972) is a Chilean politician and psychologist who is the Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, Chile ambassador to the United Nations under President Gabriel Boric. She was elected as the seve ...
( PS): The former minister was proclaimed by the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
's Central Committee as its presidential candidate on 28 January 2021 in a unanimous vote. Her candidacy emerged after a December 2020 Change.org petition made by female members of the PS asking Narváez to become the party's candidate was signed by former president
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
. In January 2021 both senator
José Miguel Insulza José Miguel Insulza Salinas (born June 2, 1943) is a Chilean politician, lawyer, and academic serving as a senator for the Arica y Parinacota Region since 2018. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999 and Ministe ...
and PS president
Álvaro Elizalde Álvaro Antonio Elizalde Soto (born 15 October 1969) is a Chilean politician and lawyer. He assumed the office of Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency on 19 April 2023. He was minister of Michelle Bachelet. On 11 March 2022 to 15 M ...
dropped out of the race. On 5 June 2021 the PPD officially proclaimed her as its candidate.


Dropped out

*
Heraldo Muñoz Heraldo Muñoz Valenzuela (born July 22, 1948) is a Chilean political scientist, academic, diplomat and politician; the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile under President Michelle Bachelet; former Assistant Secretary General, Assistant ...
( PPD): The current president of the PPD and former
minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
became the PPD candidate after beating former minister of Interior and
spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
Francisco Vidal and former deputy for District 39 and ambassador Jorge Tarud by 54% of the vote in a primary held on 31 January 2021. On 19 May 2021 he dropped out of the race and lent his support to Narváez. * Ximena Rincón ( PDC): The current senator was proclaimed as the Christian Democratic Party's candidate for president after she beat former mayor and minister Alberto Undurraga in a primary held on 24 January 2021. She won by 57% of the vote. She officially dropped out of the race on 2 June 2021. * Pablo Vidal (
independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...
): The deputy quit the Democratic Revolution party in December 2020 and founded the New Deal () political platform. On 13 April 2021, he was proclaimed as presidential candidate by the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and New Deal. On 19 May 2021 he dropped out of the race and lent his support to Narváez.


Christian Social Front

In May 2021,
José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He is running for president in the 2025 Chilean general election, for the third time. Part of the prominent Kast family, he se ...
dismissed the idea of holding a presidential primary with Chile Vamos. On August 6, 2021, the Christian Conservative Party, along with the Republican Party and other independents, registered the Christian Social Front pact with the Electoral Service for the parliamentary elections in November. Kast officially registered his candidacy before the Electoral Service on 19 August 2021.


Other candidates

File:Eduardo Artés 2021 - 7 de octubre (cropped).jpg, File:Marco Enríquez-Ominami 2018 (4x3).jpg, File:Franco Parisi.png, * Eduardo Artés ( UP): The current president of the UP was confirmed by his party as its presidential candidate in June 2021. * Marco Enríquez-Ominami (
PRO Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African ret ...
): In February 2021, his party asked the three-time presidential candidate to be once again their contender for the November 2021 election. On 23 July PRO's president, Camilo Lagos, said they would either participate in a primary or present a candidate directly to the November election. If their preferred choice, Enríquez-Ominami, was unable to run due legal restrictions, he stated that they would support senator Alejandro Guillier as their candidate. On 26 July 2021 the PRO declared they would not participate in the Constituent Unity primary to take place on 21 August 2021. On 4 September 2021 a regional electoral tribunal (TER) ordered his name to be removed from the electoral roll, thus disqualifying him from seeking office. However, he appealed successfully to the Election Certification Board (Tricel). * Franco Parisi ( PDG): Parisi is an economist who ran for president in 2013, gaining 10% of the vote. He registered his candidacy for president on 23 August 2021.


Rejected

*
Diego Ancalao Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. ...
(independent): Ancalao is a
Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
activist. He was proclaimed on 20 August 2021 by the List of the People, a leftist movement, after he garnered more endorsements from independent electors at the Electoral Service's online platform than the other two candidates in competition, Soledad Mella and Ingrid Conejeros, between 12 and 19 August 2021. The Electoral Service, though, rejected his candidacy on 26 August 2021 on the grounds he did not provide the required minimum number of endorsements from independent electors. * Gino Lorenzini (independent): Lorenzini is an economist and entrepreneur. He registered his candidacy for president on 23 August 2021, presenting over 42 thousand endorsements from independent electors, more than the minimum required by law. However, the Electoral Service rejected his candidacy on 26 August 2021 because the law requires independent candidates to hold their status as independent for up to a year before the election, and he was part of the Party of the People during some of that time.


Declined to be candidates

* Pamela Jiles ( PH): Jiles is a journalist, television personality and
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
politician. She pursues her political career as deputy for District 12 in the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...
. She comes from a family of communists and has praised
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
. She appeared as a potential presidential candidate with the most support in just one opinion poll. After her partner lost the Santiago governor race in May 2021, she withdrew her name from consideration. * Izkia Siches (independent): Siches is a physician who has served as president of the Chilean Medical College since 2017. A self-described
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
and past member of the Communist Youth, Siches became nationally known during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
for her criticisms of the government's handling of public health measures. Her high approval ratings during the pandemic led to speculation she would run for president, but she ultimately declined. * René Rubeska ( PNC): In June 2021, the National Citizen Party had announced its intention to bring its president René Rubeska as presidential candidate. However, the party was unable to gather the necessary signatures to register his candidacy.


Debates


Endorsements

After the first round, candidates Sichel and Parisi endorsed Kast. Boric was endorsed by Enríquez-Ominami and Provoste. Former President
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
returned to Chile from her role as UN Human Rights High Commissioner to formally endorse Boric. On 9 December, parliamentarians and public figures from over 15 countries signed a statement endorsing Boric.


Opinion polls


First round

:''Results considering only official candidates (excluding "Other", "Don't know", "Do not vote", etc.) and general voters, excluding polls showing likely voters or non-national samples.''


Second round

:''Results considering only official candidates (excluding "Other", "Don't know", "Do not vote", etc.) and general voters, excluding polls only with likely voters. Average of polls every 3 days.''


Public transport inefficiency

On the day of the second round on 19 December, voters at bus stops in rural parts of the country, and large municipalities in the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...
, such as
Puente Alto Puente Alto (Spanish: "Tall Bridge") is a city and commune of Chile. It is the capital of the Cordillera Province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, and is located in the south-east corner of the Greater Santiago conurbation. Puente Alto has ...
, San Bernardo, and Maipú, waited hours for public bus services in the blazing sun to reach their polling stations, due to a shortage of public bus services available on that day. Soon after these reports came in, local authorities and citizens in these municipalities took to social media to show Red Metropolitana de Movilidad bus terminals and parking decks full of unused city buses. This led to speculation that the incumbent government was suppressing voters by reducing bus services to prevent them from casting their votes. Apparently, most complaints of delays came from neighborhoods where Gabriel Boric had stronger levels of support. Leading figures from Boric's campaign, such as Izkia Siches cried foul, accusing the government of trying to help Kast win the election. Boric said "the government has a responsibility" to solve the problem to allow voters to be ferried to vote with the unused buses. The elections authority Servel expressed similar concerns to Transport Minister Gloria Hutt. The government spokesman Jaime Bellolio called the Boric campaign's claim as a "blatant lie", and denied that the government was suppressing voters, claiming that there were between 5,000 and 6,000 buses running in the Metropolitan Region. However, this was contradicted by transport authorities, which stated that only 3,000 buses were operating. The transport authority however, also stressed that the number of buses was 55 percent more than a usual Sunday and between 3 percent or 4 percent greater than on the first round of election in November. A Transantiago bus driver claimed that only 40 percent of the bus drivers available were driving that day, despite statements from the government that they were operating buses on a normal work schedule. As a result, carpools were organized through social media, while private services like
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
and Cabify offered ride discounts for voters to travel to polling stations. In the evening, just before polls closed, Transport Minister Gloria Hutt apologized, acknowledging the government was slow to react to the situation and blamed the delays on road work and traffic, but denied that the government was engaging in voter suppression.


Results


President

Turnout for the second round rose by 1.2 million from the first round, and from 47.3% in the first round to 55.6%, the highest level for any Chilean election since voting ceased to be compulsory in 2012. Gabriel Boric won the election with 55.9% of the vote and is set to become the youngest president in Chile's history and youngest state leader in the world. A post-election survey showed that despite their endorsement of Kast, 59% of Parisi's voters and 23% of Sichel's voters voted for Boric, while 82% of Yasna Provoste's supporters, 83% of Marco Enríquez-Ominami's supporters, and 92% of Eduardo Artés's supporters voted for Boric.


Chamber of Deputies


Senate


Regional Boards

:''Note: Provisional results, including 99.97% of ballot boxes.''


Aftermath

On 19 December 2021, shortly after the preliminary results of the second round were publicized, Kast conceded defeat and congratulated Boric through a tweet saying "I have just talked to Gabriel Boric and have congratulated him for his big triumph. From now on he is the president-elect of Chile and deserves all of our respect and constructive collaboration. Chile is always first". Later that day, Kast visited Boric at the latter's campaign headquarters in central Santiago. Boric thanked Kast during his victory speech, saying "we must build bridges for our compatriots to live better, because that is the people of Chile's demand". Outgoing president
Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...
had a video call with president-elect Boric, which was broadcast live on TV and radio, complying with one of the country's electoral traditions since the transition to democracy. During their conversation, Piñera congratulated Boric and said "when we divide ur countryin wars between ourselves, things always go wrong. We all hope you make a very good government for Chile and the Chileans and I am sure you will do your best". Boric said "I am going to be the President of all Chileans, because I believe it is important to interpret everyone and agreements should be between all of the people and not inside four walls". Boric was also congratulated by President of the Constitutional Convention, Elisa Loncón. The leader of Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, Héctor Llaitul, dismissed Boric as being together with Kast "two faces of the same coin" and warned that Boric will maintain "the colonial-format capitalist system". Llaitul pledged to continue "the path of revolutionary autonomism".


International reaction

Among international leaders who congratulated Boric are
President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...
Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...
, Vice President Cristina Kirchner,
President of Bolivia The president of Bolivia (), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. According to the Bolivian C ...
Luis Arce Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (; born 28 September 1963), often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), Movement fo ...
, President of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia
Andrónico Rodríguez Andrónico Rodríguez Ledezma (born 11 November 1988) is a Bolivian '' cocalero'' activist, political scientist, politician, and trade unionist serving as president of the Senate since 2020. He serves as senator for Cochabamba. Rodríguez's le ...
, former
President of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...
Lula da Silva,
President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...
Iván Duque,
President of Costa Rica The president of the Republic of Costa Rica is the head of state and head of government of Costa Rica. The president is currently elected in direct elections for a period of four years, which is not immediately renewable. Two Vice President of ...
Carlos Alvarado,
President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador (), officially called the constitutional president of the Republic of Ecuador (), serves as the head of state and head of government of Ecuador. It is the highest political office in the country as the head of the exec ...
Guillermo Lasso Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (; born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. He was the country's first conservative president in nearly tw ...
,
Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...
,
US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...
, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian,
Mayor of Paris The mayor of Paris (, ) is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to ...
Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). Hidalg ...
,
President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...
and his Foreign Secretary
Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician who has served as the Secretariat of Economy, secretary of economy since 2024. He previously served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Mexico), Secretary of ...
,
President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...
Pedro Castillo José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the President of Peru from 28 July 2021 until Third impeachment and removal of Pedro Castillo, he ...
,
President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay (), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. The president presides over the Cabinet of Uruguay, Council of Ministers, directing ...
Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (, ; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 42nd president of Uruguay from 2020 to 2025. The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended ...
,
President of Venezuela The president of Venezuela (), officially known as the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the executive head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan go ...
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...
, and opposition leaders of Venezuela
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...
and
Henrique Capriles Henrique Capriles Radonski (; born 11 July 1972) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer, who served as the 36th Governor of Miranda (state), Miranda from 2008 to 2017. Born in Caracas, he received a degree in law from the Universidad Católica ...
. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, via its
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Un ...
Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Spani ...
, also congratulated Boric on his victory in the second round and pointed to "strengthening" relations with the Chilean government. President of Brazil
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
had a late and cold reaction to Boric's election. He pointed out that "half of the population abstained" in the election, and referred to Boric as "that Boric". Boric responded to Bolsonaro's comments by stating that "clearly we are very different". Bolsonaro's son Eduardo, who had supported Kast, had a harsher reaction, stating that Chile was set on a path similar to Maduro's Venezuela with Boric. He mentioned the –8% drop that occurred in the
Santiago Stock Exchange The Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE) (), founded on November 27, 1893, is Chile's dominant stock exchange, and the third largest stock exchange in Latin America, behind Brazil's BM&F Bovespa, and the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores in Mexico. On Decemb ...
following the election and linked Boric to the violence that erupted in Chile in 2019. President of the United States
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
had a phone conversation with president-elect Boric on 30 December, on which Biden congratulated Boric for his victory. In a press statement published by the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, Biden "applauded Chile's free and fair elections as a powerful example to the region and the world", and also underscored the cooperation between Chile and the U.S. to "promote a green and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to address the existential threat posed by climate change". Biden also sent through the president-elect his condolences for the death of 14-year old Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was killed in a police shootout at Los Angeles, California on 23 December. Boric later posted on his Twitter account about the conversation he had with President Biden, stating that "In addition to the shared joy for our respective electoral victories, we talked about common challenges such as fair trade, climate crisis and strengthening democracy. We will continue to talk."


Parliamentary results

Due to the low results in the parliamentary election, 12 political parties were dissolved by the Electoral Service: Christian Conservative Party (1 deputy),
Citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...
(1), Democratic Independent Regionalist Party (1), Equality Party, Green Ecological Party (2), Humanist Party (3), Progressive Party, National Citizen Party, New Time, Patriotic Union, Revolutionary Workers Party and United Centre (1). 9 deputies became independent politicians before joining the new Congress.


See also

*
LVI legislative period of the Chilean Congress The LVI legislative period of the Chilean Congress is sitting from 11 March 2022 to 10 March 2026. It was elected at the 2021 Chilean general election. Composition Senate Deputies List of Deputies References

{{Reflist Legi ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Chilean elections
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Presidential elections in Chile Gabriel Boric Presidency of Sebastián Piñera