Chileans vote for new president

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Chileans vote for new president


Polls are open in Chile's presidential election, with Michelle Bachelet tipped to become its first female leader.

The former defence minister is expected to follow many of the successful policies of the popular outgoing President Ricardo Lagos.

He has mixed free market economics with leftist social programmes, and marshalled a healthy economy.

There will be a run-off if no candidate gets more than 50%. Elections are also being held for Congress.

All 120 members of the lower house and 20 out of 38 senators will be elected in Sunday's vote.

Polls are due to close at 1600 local time (1900 GMT), and first results are expected from 1830 (2130 GMT).

Family history

Opinion polls suggest that Ms Bachelet, 54, will come out of the first round in front, but is unlikely to win the presidency outright.

One polling firm predicted she would win 46%, while billionaire former senator Sebastian Pinera would take 25%, ex-Santiago mayor Joaquin Lavin 21% and leftist Tomas Hirsch 7%.

Chilean Presidential candidates, from left to right: Tomas Hirsch, Michelle Bachelet, Sebastian Pinera, Joaquin Lavin
There will be a run-off if no runner gets 50% in the first round

Ms Bachelet, a single mother, is the candidate for the Concertacion bloc, which has been in power since the end of the 1973-1990 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

Her family history makes her a popular figure among many Chileans. She is the daughter of an air force general tortured to death by Pinochet's secret police.

Two years after his death, she and her mother were arrested and tortured themselves.

Beacon of stability

The other candidates have focused on Chile's problems - including rising crime, high rates of unemployment and a wide divide between rich and poor.

The BBC's Daniel Schweimler in Santiago says despite these issues Chile is still a beacon of economic and political stability in an otherwise troubled region.

The economy is booming thanks to record prices for the country's main export, copper, and strong performances in other exports like wine, salmon and fertiliser.

Chile's economy has grown by around 6% this year and the IMF expects the rate to remain steady - or even rise - next year.

The proportion of Chileans living in poverty, while still at 19%, is less than half the average for Latin America.

China has said it sees Chile as a bridge for investment to the region.

But while Ms Bachelet has openly supported IMF-backed structural reforms, she has also been the only candidate not to rule out increased taxes as a means of closing the poverty gap.

If she wins she may also find she has a complicit Congress, with the Concertacion bloc expected to win a majority in the Senate and expand its current majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

Voting is compulsory among Chile's more than eight million registered voters.

Source:BBCNewsWebsite