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Chile's left nominates Communist Party's Jara to be presidential candidate / Photo: © AFP
Chile's left nominates Communist Party's Jara to be presidential candidate
Jeannette Jara, the former labor minister under President Gabriel Boric, won Sunday's primary election for Chile's ruling left-wing coalition ahead of a November presidential election.
Jara, a member of Chile's Communist Party, won 60 percent of the vote, according to results based on 93 percent of ballots counted, published by the Electoral Service (Servel).
Former interior minister Carolina Toha came in second with 27 percent of the vote, ahead of Gonzalo Winter of President Boric's Frente Amplio party and Jaime Mulet of a small environmentalist party.
This is the first time in the country's history that a broad political coalition has chosen a member of the Communist Party as its presidential candidate.
Boric, 39, whose term ends in March 2026, cannot run for reelection, as the Chilean constitution prohibits him from serving a second consecutive term.
The primary was open to members of the parties within Boric's ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who were not affiliated with specific parties.
Turnout was low, with just over 1.3 million casting their ballots, out of the 15 million people eligible to vote.
Jara, a 51-year-old lawyer, has established herself politically by spearheading two of the Boric government's flagship reforms -- the reduction of the working week to 40 hours and pension reform.
She is expected to face ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast and right-wing representative Evelyn Matthei in the presidential election, both of whom are well-placed in opinion polls.
"Voting is essential for us to build a common homeland. It is a right and at the same time a duty," Boric told the local press after casting his ballot in the southern city of Punta Arenas, where he is from.
Only the ruling coalition chose to hold the primaries, with the other political forces nominating their candidates internally.
Rising levels of violent crime in what was once one of Latin America's safest countries were uppermost among voter concerns, according to polls.
The first round of the presidential election will be held on November 16. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round will follow on December 14 between the two highest-placed candidates.
The other contenders have until August 18 to declare their candidacy.
P.A. Mendes--JDB
