Chile – Kast emerged as the favorite to win the second round

The first round of the Chilean presidential election on November 16 produced a clear head-to-head pairing for the December 14 runoff: Jeannette Jara, the left-leaning candidate from the governing coalition, won approximately 26.8 % of the vote. Meanwhile José Antonio Kast, the hard-right veteran politician, took around 2 3 . 9 %. Because neither achieved more than 50 %, they advance to the second round . On the legislative front, in the simultaneous elections for the Chamber of Deputies and half the Senate, the right-leaning bloc achieved a meaningful shift . Reports indicate that the ultra-conservative – Kast’s party, the Partido Republicano de Chile – made a leap in representation: from roughly one senator to six , and from around 15 deputies to 31 . Combined with the traditional right parties, the right-leaning bloc holds a slim majority: approximately 7 6 of 150 seats in the lower house, and 2 5 of 50 in the Senate. Importantly, the right and center-right failed to reach the 4/7 legislative majority needed for constitutional reform. On the left, the governing coalition lost ground (for example, dropping from ~72 to ~61 deputies) and remains in opposition across both chambers. Notably, Parisi's centrist party , the Partido de la Gente, won 14 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Therefore, the right and center-right blocs will need to negotiate with more moderate senators and deputies to pass legislation.