The polls close and the vote count begins in the Chilean presidential elections

Santiago de Chile.- Chilean polling stations closed their doors this Sunday to begin the vote count in a presidential election that is not expected to be resolved in the first round and in which the sole candidate of progressivism, Jeannette Jara, arrives as the favorite, but apparently without enough support to avoid a second round.

With long lines in the streets and inside the polling stations, voter turnout has been one of the main protagonists of the day because for the first time in a presidential election, voting has been compulsory.

Although the official closing of the schools was certified at 6:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT), all voters who are in line have the right to vote, so it is likely that the start of the count will be delayed in several of the polling stations.

The second place behind Jara, according to polls, would be for the far-right José Antonio Kast, leader of the classic Chilean far-right; followed closely by the most vociferous and radical extreme right of Johannes Kaiser.

It’s the first time since the return to democracy that there are two such competitive extreme candidates who defend the legacy of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990).

In fourth position would be the standard-bearer of the traditional right, former mayor Evelyn Matthei, who, although she started leading the polls, has been plummeting in electoral preferences.

The voting day, in which more than 15.6 million people were called to the polls, has proceeded normally. In addition to the Presidency, voters have chosen half of the Senate and the entire Chamber of Deputies.

The count will begin with the presidential candidates’ vote, followed by the senators in the seven regions in which they are elected, and finally, the deputies.