Municipal and governor elections in Chile
by
Olaf Jacob, Mirya Maier
Few surprises and good results for the political parties of the centre-right spectrum
With a total of 13,112,090 votes cast and a voter turnout of around 85 per cent, this year's municipal and gubernatorial elections marked the highest voter turnout in Chile's history. The election results were generally seen as an expression of discontent against the government, influenced by the current political situation and recent scandals that have further eroded confidence in the ruling coalition. The election took place against the backdrop of an ongoing security crisis that has dominated public discourse for some time. The winners of the local elections were the moderate forces of the centre-right alliance Chile Vamos, among others the party Renovación Nacional. Nevertheless, the election results are primarily an expression of local and regional dynamics and do not allow any clear conclusions to be drawn for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.