The candidate of Chile's left-wing governing coalition, communist Jeannette Jara, conceded defeat on Sunday (December 14, 2025) after early presidential results showed a strong lead for ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast, as voters opted for change following years of rising fears over heightened crime and immigration.
According to preliminary results with 83% of the vote counted, Mr. Kast won 58% of the vote, with Ms. Jara, a former labour minister in President Gabriel Boric's left-wing government, getting 41%, making it clear she was on course to lose to her right-wing rival.
On social media, Ms. Jara said she called Mr. Kast to congratulate him on his successful campaign.
“To those who supported us and were rallied by our candidacy, rest assured that we will continue working to advance a better life in our homeland,” she wrote. “Together and standing tall, as we have always done.” As Chileans voted on Sunday, even detractors of ultra-conservative former lawmaker Jose Antonio Kast said the candidate whose radical ideas lost him the past two elections was likely to become the country's next leader.
Mr. Kast's commanding lead in the polls over his rival in the presidential runoff, communist Jeannette Jara, shows how the hard-liner agitating for mass deportations of immigrants has seized the mantle of the traditional right in a country that once defined its post-dictatorship democratic revival with a vow to contain such political forces.
