Candidates from opposite sides of political spectrum vie for Chilean presidency

Fifteen million Chileans are set to vote in Sunday's presidential election, choosing between two candidates from opposite sides of the South American country's political spectrum.

Opinion polls show far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast is expected to become the country's most conservative leader since its military dictatorship. His opponent Jeannette Jara is from the ruling leftist coalition and a member of the Communist Party.

Kast has promised an iron fist approach to combating crime and clamping down on immigration. Meanwhile, Jara has focused on proposals that would expand the social welfare system.

For many years, Chile was viewed as one of the most stable democracies in Latin America, but the country and the presidential candidates are increasingly split.

"The candidates come from the extremes of the Chilean political ideological spectrum-from the far left on the one hand, and the far right on the other. This means that the opposing proposals and visions for the country are diametrically opposed in many ways," said Michelle Hafemann, a doctoral researcher in Political Science of Chile Catholic University.

Key issues in the election remain crime and immigration.

Pablo Perez, a tour guide, said fears over public safety have grown in recent years.

"Security has been an issue in Chile for 10 years. People in here believe that they are kind of like living in a war zone. 'Don't go out. You're going to get mugged. Don't come downtown like it is bad.' And [for] the feeling of the people, it is not the reality of the country. This country is a lot safer than most countries in South America," said Perez.

Candidates from opposite sides of political spectrum vie for Chilean presidency

Candidates from opposite sides of political spectrum vie for Chilean presidency

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.

Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."

Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.

Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.

German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.

"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.

He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees