Most polls, which are not always accurate, place Jeannette Jara, the candidate of the left, social democracy, and Christian Democracy, in first place; and Jose Antonio Kast, of the far-right Republican Party, in second.

However, they also show a rise in support for Johannes Kaiser, of the National Libertarian Party, who is close to the ideas of Javier Milei and has displaced Evelyn Matthei, of the traditional right-wing coalition Chile Vamos, from third place.

Further behind are Franco Parisi, of the conservative People’s Party; and the independent candidates Harold Mayne-Nicholls, Marco Enriquez-Ominami, and Eduardo Artes.

In statements to Prensa Latina, academic Marcela Vera affirmed that polls do indeed place Jara in the lead in the first round, but the question remains which right-wing candidate will join her in the runoff.

“I hadn’t seen such a narrow margin among the three right-wing candidates,” she said, adding that it will likely come down to Kast and Kaiser.

Since voting is mandatory, it is estimated that there will be around five million new voters, whose political leanings are difficult to predict.

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