Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast of the Republican Party won Chile's presidential runoff election on Sunday to become the country's 38th president, according to preliminary results.
According to Chile's Electoral Service, with 99.33 percent of the votes counted in the runoff, Kast won 58.18 percent, compared with 41.82 percent for Jeannette Jara, candidate of Chile's ruling left-wing coalition.
Jara conceded defeat to Kast and congratulated him on social media. Current President Gabriel Boric also congratulated Kast on his victory.
Kast, 59, will take office on March 11, 2026.
The runoff came after a first round of voting on Nov 16 in which Kast and Jara emerged as the top two candidates.
According to the Chilean law, a candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round is elected outright. If no contender reaches that threshold, the two leading candidates advance to a second round, with the candidate who receives the most votes taking the presidency.
The president serves a four-year term, and Chile's constitution prohibits presidents from immediate re-election.
Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chilean presidential runoff election: preliminary results
