Presidential Election in Chile.

The first round of presidential election in Chile is set to begin with nine candidates competing to succeed President Sebastian Pinera. There are 2,012 polling stations in 365 municipalities across the country and the preliminary results will be announced after 19:30 local time. According to latest opinion polls, former president Michelle Bachelet is the front runner in the vote with conservative Evelyn Matthei being a distant second going into the election. A recent poll by the Chilean polling organization CEP revealed that Bachelet was backed by 47 percent compared with the 14 percent for Matthei. Matthei, however, has received backing from Pinera, who is not standing for re-election as he is barred by the country’s constitution from running for a second consecutive term. Pinera called for high voter participation in the elections, saying, "I ask people to go vote, to motivate and encourage family members, coworkers and neighbors to do the same”. He will hand over power on March 11 next year. The election rules require the winning candidate to obtain absolute majority of votes. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the two top two finishers will compete in a December runoff.