Buenos Aires, November 16 (NA) – Initial data from Chile's Electoral Service (ServEl) indicate that the frontrunner in the contest is the government candidate, Jeannette Jara, but with a slim lead over Republican José Antonio Kast. According to the 15.04 percent of tables counted, Jara secured 26.17 percent of the votes, followed by Kast with 24.87 percent. The first official figure released, with 1.6 percent counted, showed Jara with 31.3 percent of the vote and Kast with 23.27 percent, but as subsequent reports came in, the gap narrowed. In the following positions are Franco Parisi, Evelyn Matthei, Johannes Kaiser, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, Marco Enríquez-Ominami, and Eduardo Artés. Matthei was the first to concede defeat and announced her support for Kast in a runoff election. "We are going to José Antonio Kast's command to congratulate him," Matthei stated in a public declaration upon the release of the first official results. The election was conducted "with considerable normality." Chile's Undersecretary of the Interior, Víctor Ramos, highlighted the election day and stated that it proceeded "within the expected parameters, with considerable normality." In statements to the press, the official said: "We must value those who have made this effort possible. We have been preparing this electoral process for quite some time in all its facets."
