General elections were held in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
on 19 November 2017, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections.
Voters went to the polls to elect:
* A
President of the Republic to serve a four-year term.
* Twenty three of 43 members of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
to serve an eight-year term in the
National Congress.
* The full 155 members of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
to serve a four-year term in the
National Congress.
* The full 278 members of the regional boards to serve a four-year term.
In the presidential election, opposition candidate and former president
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
took a lower than expected 36% of the vote—though nearly 14 points ahead of his closest contender, senator
Alejandro Guillier
Alejandro René Eleodoro Guillier Álvarez (born 5 March 1953) is a Chilean sociologist, television and radio journalist, and independent politician. He is a Senator of the 2nd District of Antofagasta and was the 2017 Presidential candidate of ...
, backed by the sitting administration. In the
runoff election
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
, held on 17 December 2017, Piñera beat the lawmaker with a surprising 54% of the vote, with turnout two points higher than in the first round.
In the parliamentary elections, the
Chile Vamos
(Spanish for "Let’s go Chile”) is a centre-right to right-wing political coalition of three political parties in Chile. The coalition was created on 29 January 2015 by the general secretaries of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI), Nationa ...
coalition (supporter of Piñera's candidacy) won 46% of the Chamber of Deputies and 44% of the Senate, while the governing
New Majority alliance, competing without the Christian Democrats for the first time in 28 years, lost its majority in both chambers, taking just 28% and 35% in the lower and upper chambers, respectively. The fledgling leftist bloc
Broad Front won 20 deputies (13%) and gained one senator. The Christian Democratic Party took 9% of the lower chamber and secured 14% of the Senate.
Following an election reform in 2015, the Chamber of Deputies grew in size to 155 members from the previous 120, while the Senate increased its membership from 38 to 43 after this election, and will grow to 50 following the election in 2021. Multi-seat constituencies were reestablished, replacing the previous
binomial system of two-seat per district, installed by the outgoing Pinochet dictatorship in 1989. Also, for the first time, a 40% gender quota was put in place for candidates of each political party in parliamentary elections.
All the newly elected authorities began their terms on 11 March 2018.
This was the first non-primary election in which Chileans voted from abroad.
Presidential primaries
According to the Constitution, primaries are voluntary, but its results are binding.
[Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile](_blank)
Chile Library of National Congress. Two political coalitions decided to participate: Former president
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
won the
Chile Vamos
(Spanish for "Let’s go Chile”) is a centre-right to right-wing political coalition of three political parties in Chile. The coalition was created on 29 January 2015 by the general secretaries of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI), Nationa ...
primary with 58% of the vote, while radio and television journalist
Beatriz Sánchez became the
Broad Front (Frente Amplio) nominee with nearly 68%.
Presidential candidates
Chile Vamos
Nominee
Candidates
The former president was proclaimed as candidate by the
Independent Regionalist Party
The Independent Regionalist Party ( es, Partido Regionalista Independiente, PRI) was a centrist political party in Chile. The party was regionalist ideologically but had a nationwide presence. It was intended to be an alternative to the dominant ...
on 17 December 2016, by the
Independent Democratic Union
The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with A ...
on 24 March 2017, and two days later by his former party,
National Renewal. On 2 July 2017 Sebastián Piñera won the Chile Vamos primary, thereby officially becoming a presidential candidate. On 8 July 2017,
Amplitude
The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of amplit ...
—a party that is not member of Chile Vamos— proclaimed him as its candidate. On 6 August 2017,
Political Evolution
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, which had supported
Felipe Kast
Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff (born 9 June 1977) is a Chilean economist, researcher, consultant, and politician.
Early life and family
Kast is a nephew of far-right politician José Antonio Kast and son of the late economist Miguel Kast, who s ...
during the primaries, officially joined Piñera's campaign team.
Sebastián Piñera won the primary with 58% of the vote.
The Force of the Majority
Presidential nominee
Candidates
Alejandro Guillier was proclaimed by the
Social Democrat Radical Party
The Radical Party of Chile ( es, Partido Radical de Chile), is a social-democratic political party in Chile.
The party was founded as the Social Democrat Radical Party (''Partido Radical Socialdemócrata'') on 18 August 1994 out of a union ...
as candidate on 7 January 2017. On 9 April 2017 he was chosen by the Socialist Party's Central Committee as its candidate after a secret election in which he beat former president Ricardo Lagos by nearly two-thirds of the vote; he was proclaimed as candidate by that party on 21 April 2017. On 7 May 2017, the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
proclaimed him as their candidate. On 13 May 2017 the
Party for Democracy unanimously proclaimed him as their candidate in a show of hands. As the New Majority coalition failed to organize a primary and Guillier decided to stay as an independent, he was forced to collect thousands of signatures in order to compete. On 4 August 2017 he officially registered his candidacy before the Servel, presenting 61,403 signatures, more than the 33 thousand needed to register an independent candidacy.
Broad Front
Nominee
Candidates
The journalist announced on 21 March 2017 during her own radio show that she was quitting her job to think about the possibility of running for president. On 31 March 2017 she gained the official support from both
Democratic Revolution
Democratic Revolution () is a Chilean centre-left to left-wing political party, founded in 2012 by some of the leaders of the 2011 Chilean student protests, most notably the current Deputy Giorgio Jackson, who is also the most popular public fi ...
and
Autonomist Movement
The Autonomist Movement was a Chilean political movement which was a founding member of the Broad Front on 21 January 2017. One year later, the movement merged into the party Social Convergence alongside Libertarian Left, Socialism and Libert ...
. She launched her candidacy on 3 April 2017 at a rally near
Plaza Baquedano
Plaza Baquedano, commonly known as Plaza Italia, is a major landmark in Santiago, Chile.
The plaza was inaugurated in 1928, being crowned by a monument made by Chilean sculptor Virgínio Arias and featuring General Manuel Baquedano, giving the ...
in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
. On 16 April 2017 she was proclaimed as candidate by the
Humanist Party
The Humanist International (also known as the International Humanist Party) is a consortium of political parties adhering to universal humanism (also known as Siloism, after the nickname of the movement's founder), founded in 1989 by over 40 na ...
, and on 23 April 2017 the
Libertarian Left gave her its support. On 9 May 2017 she was proclaimed as candidate by the
Poder party, and four days later by the
Progressive Democratic Movement. On 14 May 2017 the
Autonomous Left
The Autonomous Left was a Chilean political movement which was a founding member of the Broad Front on 21 January 2017. One year later, the movement merged into the party Commons.
Notable members
* Gabriel Boric (until 2016)
* Jorge Sharp
...
proclaimed her as their candidate. On 29 May 2017 the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
proclaimed her as their candidate, while on 6 June 2017, the
Green Ecologist Party did the same. On 2 July 2017 she won the Broad Front primary with nearly 68% of the vote. Her primary win was officially sanctioned by the Election Court (Tricel) on 24 July 2017 during a ceremony in Santiago.
On 31 July 2017, Sánchez presented her campaign team, which included members of the
Equality Party, which had supported her primary opponent,
Alberto Mayol
Alberto Mayol Miranda (born 8 July 1976) is a Chilean sociologist, political analyst, and politician. An academic, researcher, and author of several works on social sciences, politics, and culture, he was a candidate in the Broad Front 2017 presi ...
.
Other candidates
Unsuccessful candidacies
*
Carola Canelo (Ind.): The lawyer and academic announced on 16 November 2016 her intention to run for president. On 21 August 2017 —the deadline to register candidacies— the press reported that her official website stated that she had only gathered 6,257 out of the 33,493 signatures needed to register an independent candidacy.
*
Tomás Jocelyn-Holt (Ind.): The 2013 candidate announced on 7 June 2017, during a television interview, that he was willing to run again as president, representing The Other Chile (''El Otro Chile'') coalition. However, on 15 August 2017 he said he had failed to gather the required number of signatures to register as an independent candidate though he vowed to run in 2022.
*
Nicolás Larraín (Ind.): On 12 December 2016, the television host announced his presidential candidacy. On 19 June 2017 he announced he was quitting his candidacy and giving his support to then
Chile Vamos
(Spanish for "Let’s go Chile”) is a centre-right to right-wing political coalition of three political parties in Chile. The coalition was created on 29 January 2015 by the general secretaries of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI), Nationa ...
primary candidate for
Evópoli
Political Evolution (), also known in Spanish by its shorthand Evópoli, is a Chilean centre-right political party, founded in 2012. The party defines itself as a liberal platform for the people who look for a "modern centre-right who proposes as ...
Felipe Kast
Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff (born 9 June 1977) is a Chilean economist, researcher, consultant, and politician.
Early life and family
Kast is a nephew of far-right politician José Antonio Kast and son of the late economist Miguel Kast, who s ...
.
*
Franco Parisi
Franco Aldo Parisi Fernández (born 25 August 1967) is a Chilean Business engineering, business engineer and economist. He received recognition for doing radio and television programs about economy along with his brother Antonino Parisi, and has ...
(Ind.): The former presidential candidate stated on 17 January 2017 he was mulling over the possibility of running again in 2017 after the
Regional Democracy party said it would support him. On 4 August 2017, he put an end to his presidential candidacy, opting instead to compete for a seat in the Senate.
*
Luis Riveros (Ind.): The former rector of the
University of Chile
The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843. said on 28 October 2016 he was willing to run for president. On 7 April 2017, ''
La Tercera
''La Tercera'' ( es, The Third One), formerly known as ''La Tercera de la Hora'' ('the third of the hour'), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is ''El Mercurio''s closest competitor.
''La Tercera'' is part o ...
'' daily announced he was stepping out of the race.
Opinion polling
Presidential election
Results
Chamber of Deputies election
:''Revised provisional results.''
Results by regions
Senate election
:''Revised provisional results.''
Results by region
Arica and Parinacota
Tarapacá
Atacama
Valparaíso Region
Maule
Araucanía
Aysén
Regional Boards election
:''Revised provisional results.''
References
External links
Elections in Chile(Interior Ministry)
{{Portal bar, Chile
Presidential elections in Chile
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results