When Gabriel Boric was sworn in as president of Chile in 2022, his victory was heralded by supporters as the beginning of a new era in the country’s political history.
The leftist leader, only 36 at the time, was swept into power by a wave of protests focused on cost-of-living issues.
He also promised to oversee the rewriting of the Chilean Constitution, created during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and famous for locking the country into a pro-market model.
But several years later, after a series of failed efforts to replace the old constitution, Chile is on the verge of a sharp about-face. Boric is limited to one term at a time in office, and the country’s political right sees an opening to return to power, particularly as concerns rise over crime and immigration.
Sunday marks the first round of voting in Chile’s 2025 presidential race. But the race is likely to progress to a run-off, with Jeannette Jara, the nominee for Boric’s coalition, leading a packed field of conservative rivals.
That fractured right-wing base, however, is likely to consolidate into a formidable force by the second round of voting.
Who are the main candidates on Sunday’s ballot? Which issues are front and centre? And what do polls tell us about the first round of voting? We answer those questions and more in this brief explainer.
When is the election?
The first round of voting takes place on November 16, with 50 percent of the vote needed for a candidate to win outright.
If no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting will take place on December 14.
