Chile’s right-wing presidential candidate José Antonio Kast is gaining an advantage in the polls just weeks before the country’s elections this month, though he still appears to be losing a likely run-off against a leftist candidate.
The Pulso Ciudadano poll, released on Sunday by consulting firm Activa Research, showed the ultra-conservative candidate with 26.5% of voting intentions, slightly ahead of former student leader Gabriel Boric, center-left, with 25%.
In third place is former center-left minister and Christian Democrat candidate Yasna Provoste, with 12.1%.
The presidential election, the first since widespread protests in 2019 rocked the Andean country, will be held on 21 November. If no candidate has an absolute majority, there is a new vote in December between the top two.
In a hypothetical runoff between Kast and Boric, the leftist would win 42.9% of the vote, against 36.8% for Kast, who has improved in polls in recent weeks. Critics compare Kast to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump.
The biweekly Pulso Ciudadano poll conducted 2,027 online interviews between October 25 and 29, and has a margin of error of roughly 2.2%.
Cadem’s weekly poll, released on Monday, also showed Kast moving up in the polls, gaining 24% of voter preference compared to 19% for Boric, who has fallen in recent weeks.
The survey interviewed 1,005 people, with a margin of error of 3.1% more or less.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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