Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast has won a run-off election to become Chile’s 38th president, ousting the centre-left government currently in power,
Al Jazeera reports.
On Sunday, with nearly all the ballots counted, Kast prevailed with 58 percent of the vote, defeating former Labour Minister Jeannette Jara, a Communist Party politician who represented the governing centre-left coalition.
Jara and her coalition, Unity for Chile, conceded defeat shortly after the polls closed in the South American country.
“Democracy has spoken loud and clear. I have just spoken with President-elect [Kast] to wish him success for the good of Chile,” Jara wrote on social media.
“To those who supported us and were inspired by our candidacy, rest assured that we will continue working to build a better life in our country. Together and standing strong, as we always have.”
Kast, meanwhile, hailed the election results as a “broad mandate” to carry out his political agenda in a victory speech to supporters.
“This is not a personal achievement, nor is it a party achievement,” he told the crowd. “Chile won here, with the hope of no longer living in fear, of a Chile that works.”
The result marks the latest victory for the far right in Latin America, which has seen a streak of right-wing leaders once considered political outsiders rise to power in countries like Argentina and Ecuador.
