Leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast will go head-to-head in Chile’s presidential run-off after topping the first round of voting in an election dominated by fears of violent crime.

With 99 percent of the results from Sunday’s poll counted, Jara, a 51-year-old communist running on behalf of an eight-party coalition, won 26.85 percent of votes against 23.93 percent for Kast, the Servel electoral service said.

But her win — a far tighter margin than polls had predicted — was seen as an ominous sign for the second round and gave little cause for cheer at her election party.

Rodrigo Arellano, an analyst at Chile’s University for Development, said it seemed “unlikely” she could win the December 14 run-off.

“Not only is her vote count low, but the combined

See Full Page