Chileans Attend the 2nd Round of Regional Elections
Regional elections in Chile, Nov. 24, 2024. X/ @2001OnLine
November 24, 2024 Hour: 9:13 am
In October, none of the candidates in six regions secured the 40 percent of votes required to be declared the winner.
On Sunday, polling stations opened their doors to begin the second round of regional elections in Chile, with the Metropolitan Region as the main battleground amid a scandal involving the alleged sexual assault committed by a former undersecretary of President Gabriel Boric’s government.
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In the first round of regional elections held on October 26 and 27, none of the candidates in six regions secured the 40 percent of votes required to be declared the winner.
Only five regions elected their governors in the first round: Tarapaca, Ñuble, and Los Rios, where the official leftist coalition prevailed; Aysen, where Let’s Go Chile, the traditional right-wing coalition, won; and Magallanes, where an independent candidate aligned with the government was victorious.
The main contest is focused on the Metropolitan Region, home to the capital city Santiago, where independent incumbent governor and government-backed candidate Claudio Orrego is competing against Francisco Orrego, a lawyer and television commentator representing the opposition.
Polls predict a tight race, which could serve as a de facto referendum on the Boric administration, shaken by allegations against former Interior Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, who has been in preventive detention since Tuesday and is under investigation for alleged sexual assault and abuse.
In southern regions, surveys indicate a growing presence of right-wing and far-right forces. Valparaiso, home to the country’s largest port, is another key region in this election.
There, two of the most prominent candidates are vying for victory: independent activist Rodrigo Mundaca, supported by the government and seeking re-election on a platform advocating for water access rights; and former congresswoman Maria Hoffmann, a well-known figure of the conservative right.
Currently, voting is mandatory, as it was in the first round when it was applied to regional and municipal elections for the first time since the system was reinstated in 2022 after a decade of voluntary voting.
