Chile’s leftist candidate concedes defeat to ultra-conservative Kast in presidential runoff

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.

Vowing a harsh security crackdown to address heightened fears about uncontrolled immigration and crime, Mr. Kast’s popularity has surged in recent months.

Supporters gather at the campaign headquarters of Jeannette Jara, presidential candidate of the ruling Unity for Chile coalition, after polls closed for the presidential runoff in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP

“Just because he’s the most right-wing we’ve seen in decades doesn’t mean that it’s a dictatorship, that’s what the left wants you to believe,” said Juan Beltran, 68, a taxi driver who voted for Mr. Kast in hopes he stops the frequent violent carjackings that make him scared to go to work each day. “It means that he’ll have an iron fist, and take action like others haven’t.” While casting his ballot on Sunday, Mr. Kast demonstrated respect for Chile’s democratic institutions.

“Chile has a tradition, and I am very clear that whoever wins, whether Jeannette Jara or me, will have to be president of all Chileans,” he told the hundreds of supporters thronging him.