STORY: Polls opened on Sunday (December 14) in Chile in a runoff presidential election that is expected to result in the South American country's sharpest rightward shift since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.

Nearly 15.6 million registered voters in Chile are set to cast ballots. Polls will close at 6 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), pending voter lines, with initial results expected soon after.

The runoff pits Jose Antonio Kast, from the far-right Republican Party that he founded, against Jeannette Jara, the incumbent leftist government's coalition candidate from the Communist Party.

While Jara was ahead in November's first round with 26.85% of the vote, Kast beat out an array of right-wing candidates to finish second with 23.92%. Most of the voters who supported those right-wing candidates are projected to vote for Kast, which could give him more than 50% of the ballots and the presidency.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: SANTIAGO, CHILE (DECEMBER 14, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE INSIDE POLLING STATION AFTER VOTING OPENED IN CHILE'S RUNOFF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION