Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile presidency in runoff vote
Jose Antonio Kast of the Republican Party has won Chile’s presidential election in a runoff, marking the country’s sharpest rightward shift since the end of military rule in 1990, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
According to the electoral commission, the 59-year-old politician secured 58.30% of the vote, while his main rival, Communist Party member and candidate of the ruling left-centrist alliance, Jeannette Jara, received 41.70%, with more than 95% of ballots counted.
Kast will become the first far-right president of Chile since the era of Augusto Pinochet. He studied law at the Catholic University of Chile and has been active in politics for about three decades. He is set to take office on March 11.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the president-elect, noting that the United States hopes to cooperate with the new administration to strengthen regional security and expand trade ties. Argentine President Javier Milei also welcomed Kast’s “convincing victory.”
As Qazinform News Agency earlier reported, Chile held one of its most polarizing elections in recent years, with Kast and Jara advancing to a December runoff after neither secured the majority required for an outright victory. The runoff contenders, José Antonio Kast and Jeannette Jara, represented contrasting political backgrounds and approaches that reflected broader global political trends.