Chile election poll shows leftist Jara losing to right-wing rivals in runoff

Chile presidential candidate Jeannette Jara, a former labor minister and member of the Communist Party, poses for a picture as she speaks to Reuters after winning the June primaries to become the country's left wing coalition candidate, in Santiago, Chile July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -The candidate for Chile's ruling leftist coalition, communist Jeannette Jara, leads voters' preferences ahead of the first round of the presidential election, but could lose in a runoff against either of two right-wing opposition candidates, a poll showed on Monday.

The National Public Opinion (CEP) poll showed Jara leading the first-round vote with the preference of 25% of voters, trailed by hard-right firebrand Jose Antonio Kast with 23% and Evelyn Matthei with 12%.

In a runoff election, Jara would lose to both Kast and Matthei, according to the poll.

Matthei, an experienced right-wing candidate, has centered her campaign around "order, progress and hope," while Kast, who finished second to President Gabriel Boric in 2021, has resurged with a tough-on-crime platform.

Chile will hold the first round of its presidential election on Nov. 16. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is scheduled for Dec. 14.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)