Santiago de Chile, November 16, 2025 – The officialist candidate Jeannette Jara, a Communist Party militant and former Minister of Labor in Gabriel Boric's government, and the leader of the Republican Party, José Antonio Kast, will face off in the presidential runoff on December 14, following the first round of the general elections this Sunday.
Jara, a former student and union leader, was one of the most visible ministers in Boric's cabinet for her push to reduce the workday to 40 hours, the Karin Law against workplace harassment, and pension reform initiatives, which gave her strong anchoring among workers and urban sectors.
Kast, a lawyer, former deputy, and founder of the Republican Party, has been building his leadership in the Chilean right for years based on a tough stance on security, migration, and public order, which he has moderated in form but not in substance compared to previous campaigns.
The surprise of the day was led by Franco Parisi, leader of the People's Party (PDG), who consolidated a strong performance in regions, particularly in Valparaíso and several northern zones, and finished third with nearly 18.8% of the vote according to the first official counts.
Although Jara secured first place and confirmed the floor of support for the officialist government, the picture after the first round leaves the right-wing forces better positioned for the runoff.
The sum of Kast, Kaiser, Matthei, and, to a large extent, Parisi's vote constitutes an opposition bloc that far exceeds 50% of the vote, in a context of mandatory voting that mobilized more than 8.3 million voters out of a roll of nearly 15.8 million eligible citizens.
On election night, both Kaiser and Matthei hastened to recognize Kast's victory within the opposition camp and announced their explicit support for the republican leader for the second round, partly replicating the dynamic already seen in 2021, when Kast reached the runoff and was defeated by Boric.
«I call on Chileans to vote with conscience in December,» President Gabriel Boric said in a televised address, congratulating Jara and Kast on advancing to the runoff. «Emphasizing the importance of the next government being able to 'deepen democracy and face inequality without giving up stability.'»
From abroad, a sustained turnout and a favorable trend for Jara were also reported in several European and Asian cities, in line with patterns from previous elections.
The runoff will begin in an open scenario but with an initial inclination favorable to the opposition bloc. The great unknown now lies in the behavior of Parisi's vote, an electorate marked by disenchantment with the traditional political class and a volatile profile that in 2021 had already shown a majority inclination for Kast in the second round.
Meanwhile, the campaigns have already begun to make their moves: the officialism will try to expand its base towards the political center and improve its performance in disenchanted popular sectors, while Kast will seek to unite the traditional right without fissures and seduce the anti-politics voters of Parisi.
