Chilean presidential election, 2009–2010

Runoff election
2005–2006 ←
 January 17, 2010
 → 2013
 
Candidate Sebastián Piñera Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Party National Renewal Christian Democrat Party
Alliance Coalition for Change Concertación
Popular vote 3,591,182 3,367,790
Percentage 51.61 48.39
Presidential runoff election results map (north is to the left, south to the right). Blue denotes communes won by Piñera, Red denotes those won by Frei.
President before election

Michelle Bachelet
Socialist Party

 Elected President

Sebastián Piñera
National Renewal
First round
2005–2006 ←
 December 13, 2009
 → 2013
 
Candidate Sebastián Piñera Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Party National Renewal Christian Democrat Party
Alliance Coalition for Change Concertación
Popular vote 3,074,164 2,065,061
Percentage 44.06 29.60
 
Candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami Jorge Arrate
Party Independent Communist Party
Alliance New Majority Juntos Podemos Más
Popular vote 1,405,124 433,195
Percentage 20.14 6.21
First round presidential election (preliminary) results map. Blue denotes communes won by Piñera, Red by Frei, Green by MEO, Gray is a tie between MEO and Piñera.
Chile

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Politics and government of
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The Chilean presidential election of 2009 was held on Sunday December 13, 2009. Based on the two-round system, since none of the candidates secured the absolute majority needed to take the presidency outright, a run-off between the two most-voted candidates —center-right Sebastián Piñera and center-left Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle— was held on Sunday, January 17, 2010.[1] Piñera, who won the runoff with about 51.6% of the vote, succeeded Michelle Bachelet on March 11, 2010. Parliamentary elections took place on the same day.

Chilean politics is dominated by two main coalitions: the center-left Concert of Parties for Democracy (Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia), composed of the Christian Democrat Party, the Socialist Party, the Party for Democracy, and the Social Democrat Radical Party; and the center-right[2] Alliance for Chile (Alianza por Chile), composed of the Independent Democrat Union and National Renewal. The Concertación selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle as their candidate, while the Alianza chose former presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera, who is supported by the newly created Coalition for Change electoral group. The far-left Juntos Podemos Más pact selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its candidate. Another former Socialist party member, deputy Marco Enríquez-Ominami (MEO), ran as independent.

Contents

Summary of candidates

The following four were the official candidates for President:

Candidate Endorsement Political spectrum
Jorge Arrate
Communist Party of Chile		 Juntos Podemos Más
New Left[3]		 Left
Marco Enríquez-Ominami
Independent		 New Majority for Chile
Broad Social Movement[4]		 Center-left
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Christian Democrat Party		 Concertación
Country Force		 Center-left
Sebastián Piñera
National Renewal		 Coalition for Change Center-right

Coalition for Change candidate

Sebastián Piñera
(RN)		 Both Alliance for Chile parties —RN and UDI— chose Sebastián Piñera as their candidate for president, now under the banner of a larger electoral pact, the Coalition for Change, which also includes the newly formed party ChileFirst and other minor groups.

Party pre-candidates

Party Candidate Remarks
RN Sebastián Piñera Piñera participated in Hernán Büchi's 1989 presidential campaign and was later elected to the Senate. He was a potential presidential nominee in 1993, but his chances were ruined by a conflict with Evelyn Matthei that came to be known as Piñeragate. In 1999 he again attempted to be the nominee, but was defeated in the convention by Joaquín Lavín. In 2005 he shook the political scene by jumping into the first round independently of the UDI. Polls show him narrowly beating Frei in a runoff scenario. He was officially proclaimed by RN on August 8, 2009.[5] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009.[6]
UDI Sebastián Piñera The UDI officially proclaimed Piñera as its candidate on August 22, 2009.[7] Piñera had been proposed as the party's candidate by the UDI's Consejo Directivo in December 2008.[8]

Pre-candidates:

  • Evelyn Matthei: She is the daughter of Air Force General Fernando Matthei, a member of the military junta that took power in the 1973 coup. She was a member of National Renewal, but in 1992 was embroiled in a conflict with Sebastián Piñera, ending with her leaving the party and joining the UDI. She has been mentioned as a potential UDI candidate, considering she is among the leading proponents of having the UDI bring its own candidate to the first round. She has said it would be "fun" to compete against Piñera. Longueira said on October 9, 2008 that she would be an excellent candidate. On October 11, 2008, she said she was willing to run for president.[9] She announced her precandidacy on October 14, 2008.[10]

Potential candidates:

Declined candidacies:

  • Hernán Büchi: A possible candidacy by the 1990 presidential candidate generated buzz within the UDI in June 2007. He has however declined a candidacy.
  • Pablo Longueira: The senator officially launched his candidacy on March 30, 2007. He had announced his plans before the 2005 election took place. He stepped down "momentarily" due to "low party support" on May 3, 2007.[12]
  • Jacqueline van Rysselberghe: The mayor of Concepción was proclaimed, on October 11, 2006, as candidate by five UDI deputies from the Biobío Region. She has refused to campaign for the nomination, however, preferring to concentrate on her 2008 campaign for reelection as mayor. She as reelected as Concepción mayor in October 2008.
CH1 Sebastián Piñera

ChileFirst decided to support Piñera on March 29, 2009 after its leader, senator Fernando Flores, declined to run for president.[13] It officially proclaimed him on August 15, 2009.[14]

Declined candidacies:

  • Fernando Flores: The former minister of Salvador Allende and current senator launched a failed presidential bid for the 2005 election. He resigned from the PPD in early 2007 and launched a new party, ChileFirst. On March 29, 2009 ChileFirst decided to support Piñera after Flores declined to run for president.[13]

Concertación candidate

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
(PDC)		 The Concertación selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle from the Christian Democrat Party as its single candidate for president. The selection process involved a single regional primary on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions between Frei and José Antonio Gómez from the Social Democrat Radical Party. Frei won with 65% versus 35% of Gómez. Had the percentage difference between both candidates been less than 20%, the selection process would have continued with additional primaries in other regions until May 17.

Frei was legally proclaimed as presidential candidate by the PPD on August 1, 2009[15] and by the PDC, PS and PRSD on August 22, 2009.[16] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 12, 2009.[17]

Party pre-candidates

Each Concertación party selected its own pre-candidate for president. Only Frei and Gómez submitted their candidacies before the January 26, 2009 deadline.

Party Candidate Remarks
PRSD José Antonio Gómez He was proclaimed by his party on November 13, 2008. He had announced his pre-candidacy two days earlier.[18]
PDC Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle He was proclaimed by his party on December 13, 2008.[19]

Other candidates:

  • Pablo Lorenzini: On December 16, 2008, he said he was supporting Frei's candidacy.[20]
  • Marcelo Trivelli: He announced his candidacy on June 10, 2007 during a television interview. Despite his lack of a support base, he declared himself the candidate of "honesty and sincerity" and respect towards the Constitution.[21] Trivelli received heavy criticism from his own party because of his decision to run, and many party members declared it was not the appropriate time for candidacies.[22] Trivelli has embarked on a number of trips around the country in order to create enough support to sustain his candidacy.[23]

Declined candidacy:

  • Soledad Alvear: She was constantly mentioned as a potential contender in 2009 ever since she resigned from her candidacy in favor of Bachelet. Her supporters, the alvearistas, controlled most of the PDC institutions and she commanded widespread support in the party, despite the vocal opposition of fellow Senator Adolfo Zaldívar. On December 6, 2007, she was unofficially proclaimed a presidential candidate by Christian Democrat deputy Pablo Lorenzini.[24] She declared herself a candidate on June 23, 2008 during a television interview.[25] On October 28, 2008, she stepped out of the race for the presidency and resigned as PDC president after disappointing results in the municipal elections held two days earlier.
PS Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle The PS selected Frei as its candidate on January 17, 2009. He was the only person to submit a candidacy to the PS presidential convention.

Declined candidacies:

  • José Miguel Insulza: He declared himself a candidate on December 12, 2008.[26] He, however, declined his candidacy on January 5, 2009, and gave his support to Frei.
  • Ricardo Lagos: His government was highly popular and his term ended with approval ratings around 60-70%. Various supporters urged him to run again in 2009. However, his popularity has lately seen a sharp fall due to the catastrophic new transport system (Transantiago), planned under his presidency. Lagos has declared all doors are open to him, but has refused to confirm whether he will participate. In March 2008, he said it was unbecoming as a former head of state to participate in a primary and would refuse to do so.[27] On November 8, 2008, he was proclaimed unanimously by the PPD's National Directive as its candidate, but Lagos never accepted the nomination.[28] On December 2, 2008, the PPD officially proclaimed Lagos as its candidate for the presidency.[29] However, two days later, Lagos ruled out running for the presidency, stating in a press conference "I am not, nor will I be, a presidential candidate".[30]
PPD Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle The PPD selected Frei as its candidate on January 24, 2009, with 296 votes from the party's National Council, against seven for PRSD candidate José Antonio Gómez.[31]

Other candidates:

  • Sergio Bitar: In a May 4, 2007 interview with La Tercera, he said he was willing to be his party's presidential nominee if there was enough support.[32] On November 7, 2008 he said that he is "without a doubt" willing to compete eventually for the presidency, but only if Ricardo Lagos's candidacy does not prosper.[33] He declined his candidacy on November 10, 2008, following Lagos's proclamation by his party.[34] Now that Lagos is out of the race, he may attempt a second run.
  • Nicolás Eyzaguirre: He has said that he could participate if Lagos declines to, but he remained silent after Lagos declined his candidacy.
  • Ricardo Lagos: On December 4, 2008 he ruled out running for the presidency, stating in a press conference "I am not, nor will I be, a presidential candidate".[30]
Independent
candidates		 None Failed candidacies:
  • Marco Enríquez-Ominami: On December 15, 2008, he announced he was available to compete with Insulza in a Socialist Party primary.[35] He, however, did not submit his candidacy to the PS presidential convention. On January 9, 2009, he agreed to compete in the Concertación primaries as independent after gaining the support of some council people and legislators.[36]

Primary results

The primary was carried out on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions. Frei became the single Concertación candidate by beating Gómez with an advantage above 20%, cancelling the need for further regional primaries.

Final results.[37]

Candidate Party Votes % Result
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle DC 40,140 64.90 Concertación candidate
José Antonio Gómez PRSD 21,703 35.09
Valid votes 61,843 100
Null votes 222 0.35
Blank votes 317 0.50
Total votes 62,382 100

Juntos Podemos candidate

Jorge Arrate
(Communist Party of Chile)		 The Juntos Podemos Más coalition of far-left parties selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its sole candidate for president on April 25, 2009. He was officially proclaimed as candidate on April 26, 2009.[38] In July 2009, after his candidacy lost the support of the Humanist Party, he became a member of the Communist Party in order to comply with the law and run for president. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009.[39]

Party pre-candidates

Party Candidate Remarks
PCCh Guillermo Teillier Teillier launched his candidacy on September 26, 2008. He said he is willing to step down in order to put forward a single candidate for the Juntos Podemos coalition of left-parties.[40] In November 2008 he said he would be willing to participate in a primary between him, Hirsch and Alejandro Navarro, who had quit the Socialist Party.[41] Teillier stepped down as Juntos Podemos pre-candidate on April 25, 2009, giving his support to Jorge Arrate, saying he was the right person according to the country's political moment.
PH Tomás Hirsch Hirsch was among the founders of the Humanist Party and vied unsuccessfully for seats in the Chamber of Deputies as part of the Concertación. In 1993, the PH broke off from the coalition. In 1999 he was the Humanist presidential candidate, but lost in the first round. In 2005, he again participated in the presidential campaign, now with the additional support of the communists. He garnered a little over 5% of the vote. In an interview with Biobío Radio on September 1, 2007, Hirsch criticized the Concertación and the Alianza and declared that he would he "happy to be a candidate" if the members of his coalition agree.[42] On June 7, 2008 he announced he intended to run for the presidency for the third time as the PH candidate, under the Juntos Podemos umbrella.[43]
Independent (Socialista-allendista) Jorge Arrate Arrate is a member of the more leftist faction of the PS and had been mentioned as a potential candidate in an alliance of this faction and the Juntos Podemos Más pact. He formally announced his candidacy on January 27, 2008, pressured by a group of socialists opposed to the Socialist Party leadership.[44] On November 20, 2008, Arrate was proclaimed as candidate by a group of Socialist Party Central Committee members.[45] Arrate resigned from the PS on January 14, 2009.[46] He was proclaimed as presidential candidate on January 18, 2009 by a group of Socialist Party members, the so-called "socialistas-allendistas.[47]

Primary results

The election to define the sole Juntos Podemos candidate was carried out on April 25, 2009 in Santiago. Arrate beat Hirsch and became the single Juntos Podemos candidate.

Final results.[48]

Candidate Party Votes % Result
Jorge Arrate Ind. 1,145 77.57 Juntos Podemos candidate
Tomás Hirsch PH 331 22.42
Valid votes 1,476 100
Null votes 6 0.40
Blank votes 2 0.13
Total votes 1,484 100

Independent candidate

Marco Enríquez-Ominami
(Ind.)		 On December 15, 2008, he announced he was available to compete with Insulza in a Socialist Party primary.[35] He, however, did not submit his candidacy to the PS presidential convention. On January 9, 2009, he agreed to compete in the Concertación primaries as independent after gaining the support of some council people and legislators.[36] He did not submit his candidacy, however. Instead he is running as an independent and as of August, 2009, polling above 20% and thus threatening to displace one of the coalition-backed candidates in the expected run-off election. He was proclaimed candidate by the Humanist and Ecologist parties plus several other leftist groups under the banner of a new electoral pact, a New Majority for Chile, on September 13, 2009.[49] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 10, 2009.[50]

Declined candidacies

Opinion polls

List of opinion polls released within a year of the election. Only responses from persons registered to vote are shown.

Legend
— Not in the list
Wins election
May win election
Runoff
May go to a runoff

First-round scenarios

Publisher Field date Date published Arrate MEO Frei Piñera Other DK/NR Comments
CEP November 19-December 11, 2008 December 30, 2008 — — 31 41 7 21 Source
La Segunda December 18, 2008 December 19, 2008 — — 36 46 6 12 Source
La Segunda April 6, 2009 April 7, 2009 1 4 33 43 7 12 Source
La Tercera April 6–7, 2009 April 12, 2009 — 3 33 42 7 15 Source
Imaginacción April 4–26, 2009 May 11, 2009 — 10.5 32.4 38.3 7.6 11.2 Source
TNS Time April 1–30, 2009 May 5, 2009 — 14 29 36 7 14 Source
La Tercera April 21–23, 2009 April 26, 2009 — 10 28 35 7 20 Source
Ipsos N/A April N/A, 2009 0.3 5.1 25.4 43.3 0 25.9 Source
La Segunda May 14, 2009 May 15, 2009 1 14 27 42 4 12 Source
Imaginacción May 2–30, 2009 June 11, 2009 0.5 20.9 29.9 34.9 5.6 8.2 Source
TNS Time May 4–30, 2009 June 2, 2009 1 24 25 33 3 14 Source
CEP May 14-June 3, 2009 June 18, 2009 1 14 30 34 3 19 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP May 14-June 3, 2009 June 18, 2009 1 13 30 37 3 16 Ballot box vote. (Source)
Ipsos May 18-June 1, 2009 June 9, 2009 1.4 20.6 24.9 34.4 2.5 16.2 Source
Imaginacción June 1–30, 2009 July 14, 2009 2.3 21.5 28.2 35.9 2.7 9.4 Source
Mori June 27-July 9, 2009 July 23, 2009 1 13 21 43 3 19 Source
La Segunda July 8, 2009 July 10, 2009 2 15 27 38 3 15 Source
Imaginacción July 1–31, 2009 August 12, 2009 3.5 21.9 26.7 36.7 1.7 9.5 Source
La Tercera July 20–22, 2009 July 26, 2009 2 21 25 30 2 20 Source
CERC July 17-August 3, 2009 August 12, 2009 1 14 25 39 1 20 Source
Ipsos July 24-August 6, 2009 August 19, 2009 1.5 20.6 22.9 35.6 2.1 17.3 Source
Direct Media August 5–6, 2009 August 12, 2009 1.63 15.48 21.28 34.43 1.32 25.86 Source
La Segunda August 12, 2009 August 14, 2009 1 20 24 39 1 15 Source
Imaginacción August 1–29, 2009 September 14, 2009 2.3 20.5 28.2 37.8 2.4 10.3 Source
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 1 16 30 35 2 16 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 1 17 28 37 2 15 Ballot box vote. (Source)
Imaginacción September 1–30, 2009 October 14, 2009 4.5 20.4 25.7 38.4 1.7 9.3 Source
La Segunda September 24, 2009 September 25, 2009 4 19 23 39 0 15 Source
Ipsos September 16-October 6, 2009 October 21, 2009 3.7 17.8 27.2 36.7 0.3 14.3 Source
UDP September 21-October 13, 2009 October 28, 2009 4.1 17.3 23.7 30.3 0.6 24.0 Source
La Tercera October 5–8, 2009 October 10, 2009 6 24 20 39 0 11 Source
CERC October 2–13, 2009 October 20, 2009 3 20 20 41 0 16 Source
El Mercurio-Opina October 10–12, 2009 October 18, 2009 4.9 21.5 22.8 38.0 0 12.7 Source
Giro País-Subjetiva October 9–20, 2009 October 31, 2009 4.7 19.3 28.6 36.9 0 10.5 Source
Imaginacción October 1–31, 2009 November 16, 2009 6.4 22.3 27.0 37.8 0 6.5 Source
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 4 17 26 35 0 18 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 5 19 26 36 0 14 Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina November 3–4, 2009 November 7, 2009 6.1 20.4 21.5 38.0 0 14.0 Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda November 18, 2009 November 20, 2009 7 20 24 38 0 11 Source
El Mercurio-Opina December 5–6, 2009 December 9, 2009 6.8 19.5 22.6 38.2 0 12.9 Ballot box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Runoff scenarios

Frei vs. Piñera

Publisher Field date Date published Frei Piñera DK/NR Comments
CEP November 19-December 11, 2008 December 30, 2008 34 44 22 Source
Imaginacción December 6–28, 2008 January 8, 2009 42.5 44.8 12.7 Source
La Segunda-UDD December 18, 2008 December 19, 2008 38 46 16 Source
TNS Time January N/A, 2009 January 31, 2009
(unverified)		 40 45 15 Source
Imaginacción January 3–31, 2009 February 6, 2009 42.3 45.6 12.1 Source
TNS Time February 2–26, 2009 March 10, 2009
(unverified)		 38 43 19 Source
Imaginacción February 7–28, 2009 March 4, 2009 43.4 46.8 9.8 Source
La Segunda-UDD March 5, 2009 March 6, 2009 37 46 17 Source
TNS Time March 2–30, 2009 March 31, 2009 41 39 20 Source
Imaginacción March 2–31, 2009 April 8, 2009 44.3 44.7 11.0 Source
La Segunda-UDD April 6, 2009 April 7, 2009 39 45 16 Source
La Tercera April 6–7, 2009 April 12, 2009 40 46 14 Source
Imaginacción April 4–26, 2009 May 11, 2009 43.2 43.8 13.0 Source
TNS Time April 1–30, 2009 May 5, 2009 41 43 16 Source
CERC April 13–27, 2009 May 14, 2009 33 47 20 Source
La Tercera April 21–23, 2009 April 26, 2009 39 43 18 Source
Giro País-Subjetiva April 30-May 10, 2009 May 16, 2009 40.8 37.9 21.3 Source
La Segunda-UDD May 14, 2009 May 15, 2009 34 44 22 Source
Imaginacción May 2–30, 2009 June 11, 2009 43.1 44.2 12.7 Source
TNS Time May 4–30, 2009 June 2, 2009 38 43 19 Source
CEP May 14-June 3, 2009 June 18, 2009 39 39 22 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP May 14-June 3, 2009 June 18, 2009 39 41 20 Ballot box vote. (Source)
Ipsos May 18-June 1, 2009 June 9, 2009 39.6 42.3 18.1 Source
Imaginacción June 1–30, 2009 July 14, 2009 41.9 43.3 14.8 Source
MORI June 27-July 9, 2009 July 23, 2009 30 46 24 Source
La Segunda-UDD July 8, 2009 July 10, 2009 39 43 18 Source
Imaginacción July 1–31, 2009 August 12, 2009 42.8 44.5 12.7 Source
CERC July 17-August 3, 2009 August 12, 2009 36 44 20 Source
Ipsos July 24-August 6, 2009 August 19, 2009 38.1 45.5 16.4 Source
Direct Media August 5–6, 2009 August 12, 2009 30.97 40.89 28.14 Source
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 39 39 22 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 39 42 19 Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD August 12, 2009 August 14, 2009 36 45 19 Source
Imaginacción August 1–29, 2009 September 14, 2009 42.6 44.6 12.8 Source
Imaginacción September 1–30, 2009 October 14, 2009 42.2 45.2 12.6 Source
La Segunda-UDD September 24, 2009 September 25, 2009 38 47 15 Source
Ipsos September 16-October 6, 2009 October 21, 2009 39.6 44.5 15.9 Source
UDP September 21-October 13, 2009 October 28, 2009 36.3 35.5 28.2 Source
La Tercera October 5–8, 2009 October 10, 2009 39 48 13 Source
El Mercurio-Opina October 10–12, 2009 October 18, 2009 38.1 42.5 19.4 Ballot box vote. (Source)
Giro País-Subjetiva October 9–20, 2009 October 31, 2009 42.0 42.2 15.8 Source
Imaginacción October 1–31, 2009 November 16, 2009 42.1 45.8 12.1 Source
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 36 40 24 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 37 43 20 Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina November 3–4, 2009 November 7, 2009 36.8 42.7 20.5 Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD November 18, 2009 November 20, 2009 37 47 16 Source
El Mercurio-Opina December 5–6, 2009 December 9, 2009 34.4 42.5 23.1 Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina December 15–17, 2009 December 19, 2009 39.7 46.2 14.1 Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD December 17, 2009 December 18, 2009 43 48 9 Source
El Mercurio-Opina January 5–7, 2010 January 9, 2010 41.0 46.1 12.9 Ballot box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Enríquez-Ominami vs. Piñera

Publisher Field date Date published MEO Piñera DK/NR Comments
La Segunda-UDD May 14, 2009 May 15, 2009 37 45 18 Source
MORI June 27-July 9, 2009 July 23, 2009 23 47 30 Source
La Segunda-UDD July 8, 2009 July 10, 2009 36 45 19 Source
La Tercera July 20–22, 2009 July 26, 2009 22 49 29 Source
CERC July 17-August 3, 2009 August 12, 2009 29 44 27 Source
Ipsos July 24-August 6, 2009 August 19, 2009 40.3 43.6 16.1 Source
Direct Media August 5–6, 2009 August 12, 2009 31.29 38.88 29.83 Source
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 33 40 27 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP July 30-August 20, 2009 September 3, 2009 34 44 22 Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD August 12, 2009 August 14, 2009 37 45 18 Source
Imaginacción September 1–30, 2009 October 14, 2009 39.3 45.9 14.8 Source
La Segunda-UDD September 24, 2009 September 25, 2009 40 47 13 Source
Ipsos September 16-October 6, 2009 October 21, 2009 42.3 42.8 14.9 Source
UDP September 21-October 13, 2009 October 28, 2009 36.4 34.0 29.6 Source
La Tercera October 5–8, 2009 October 10, 2009 43 44 13 Source
El Mercurio-Opina October 10–12, 2009 October 18, 2009 40.3 42.9 16.8 Ballot-box vote. (Source)
Giro País-Subjetiva October 9–20, 2009 October 31, 2009 41.1 40.2 18.7 Source
Imaginacción October 1–31, 2009 November 16, 2009 42.7 43.4 13.9 Source
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 35 37 28 Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP October 8–30, 2009 November 11, 2009 37 40 23 Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina November 3–4, 2009 November 7, 2009 37.7 41.9 20.4 Ballot-box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD November 18, 2009 November 20, 2009 40 44 16 Source
El Mercurio-Opina December 5–6, 2009 December 9, 2009 34.8 40.7 24.5 Ballot-box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Arrate vs. Piñera

Publisher Field date Date published Arrate Piñera DK/NR Comments
La Tercera October 5–8, 2009 October 10, 2009 33 51 16 Source

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Enríquez-Ominami vs. Frei

Publisher Field date Date published MEO Frei DK/NR Comments
UDP September 21-October 13, 2009 October 28, 2009 32.3 31.9 35.8 Source

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Debates

The first debate was organized by TVN and took place in Studio #9 at the station's main headquarters in Santiago. It was broadcast live on September 23, 2009 at 10:40 p.m and included all four candidates. A poll published by Ipsos the following day, showed that Enríquez-Ominami, Arrate and Piñera were each considered to have had the best performance over the rest, with 29-30% of support, while Frei's showing only had the support of 9%. Frei was seen by 45% as the worst performer, followed by Piñera (37%), Arrate (10%) and Enríquez-Ominami (5%).[70] Another poll by La Segunda found 23% thought Piñera had won the debate, followed by Arrate (21%), Enríquez-Ominami (15%) and Frei (9%). 31% thought none had won the debate.[71]

The second debate was organized by Archi (Radio Broadcasters Association) and Mayor University. It took place at 8:30 AM on October 9, 2009. It was a radio-only debate, though some local 24-hour news channels broadcast live some parts of it. A poll carried out by Mayor University showed Piñera had won the debate by 41%, followed by Enríquez-Ominami (22%), Arrate (19%) and Frei Ruiz-Tagle (17%).[72]

There was an online debate on November 4, organized by Terra and Radio Cooperativa. Only Arrate was present after the other three candidates declined to attend. Frei and Piñera had confirmed their presence in May, while Enríquez-Ominami backed down on the same day of the debate.

A debate to discuss regional issues took place on November 6 at 9 AM in Talca's casino. It was organized by the National Press Association (ANP) and was attended by all four candidates.

A fifth debate took place on November 9 at Canal 13's studios in Santiago, which was broadcast live at 10 PM. All four candidates were present. This debate was notable because the candidates were able to ask questions to one another and freely talk to each other.

The last debate was organized by the National Television Association (Anatel) and broadcast live on November 16 at 10 PM by all terrestrial television stations. All candidates attended. There was no audience present.

First round results

Official and final results.[73]

Ballot
number		 Candidate Party/
Coalition		 Votes  % Result
1 Jorge Arrate Mac-Niven PCCh/JPM 433,195 6.21
2 Marco Enríquez-Ominami Gumucio Independent 1,405,124 20.14
3 Sebastián Piñera Echenique RN/CFC 3,074,164 44.06 Runoff
4 Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle PDC/CPD 2,065,061 29.60 Runoff
Total valid votes 6,977,544 100.00
Null votes 200,420 2.76
Blank votes 86,172 1.19
Total votes 7,264,136 100.00
Total voters enrolled 8,285,186 87.68% turnout
Voting age population 12,277,915 67.48% registered

Note: There are 34,348 ballot boxes in the country in 34,325 polling places (23 polling places are mixed-sex, with separate ballot boxes for men and women.)

Runoff election

Campaign

On December 20, 2009, the Juntos Podemos Más coalition gave his support to Eduardo Frei's candidacy, after the former president agreed to include a number of policies into his government program.[74] Two days later, Jorge Arrate also gave his full support to Frei.[75] On January 13, 2010 Enríquez-Ominami held a press conference to state he would vote for Frei, although he did not say his name.[76] He had previously said that voting for Piñera would be a regression and voting for Frei would not be an advancement.

Debates

There was a single debate between the two candidates. It was organized by Anatel and broadcast at 10 PM by all terrestrial television stations on January 11, 2010.

Results

Official and final results.[77]

Ballot
number		 Candidate Party/
Coalition		 Votes  % Result
1 Sebastián Piñera Echenique RN/CFC 3,591,182 51.61 President
2 Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle PDC/CPD 3,367,790 48.39
Total valid votes 6,958,972 100.00
Null votes 189,490 2.63
Blank votes 54,909 0.76
Total votes 7,203,371 100.00
Total voters enrolled 8,285,186 86.94% turnout
Voting age population 12,277,915 67.48% registered

Note: There are 34,348 ballot boxes in the country in 34,325 polling places (23 polling places are mixed-sex, with separate ballot boxes for men and women.)

Timeline

References

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  77. ^ Tricel

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