Presidential polls : Far right eyes comeback as Chile vote begins

Chileans began voting for a new president yesterday, making a stark choice between the most right-wing candidate in 35 years of democracy and the head of a leftist coalition.

Polls show far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast as the strong front-runner in the runoff vote against his rival Jeannette Jara, a longstanding member of the Communist Party.

The 59-year-old Kast is making his third attempt to win the presidency with a tough-on-crime and anti-migrant message.

After casting his vote in the city of Paine, 40 km (about 25 miles) from the capital Santiago, and taking a selfie with supporters, he was greeted by a crowd chanting "Kast, president" and breaking into applause.

He promised to seek unity in a highly polarized country.

"The winner will have to be the president of all Chileans," Kast said.

Once one of the safest and most prosperous countries in the Americas, Chile has been hit hard in recent years by the Covid-19 pandemic, violent social protests and an influx of foreign organized crime.

Kast is far to the right of most Chileans on many issues.