Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet has been re-elected as Chile’s president in a landslide victory.
In the run-off she garnered around 62 percent support, the highest proportion of votes any presidential candidate has won since Chile returned to holding democratic elections in 1989.
Addressing her supporters, Michelle Bachelet said: “The victory in this round isn’t personal, it’s a collective dream that triumphs – it’s your voices that we heard throughout Chile during these months that have won. It’s the voice of the people who have marched in the streets for years making their demands with courage and who have set ambitions and a path for out country.”
Her rival Evelyn Matthei, of the ruling conservative
Alianza coalition conceded defeat after capturing just 38 percent – the right’s worst performance in two decades.
She had been a last minute candidate for the right and failed to make headway against her opponent.
Bachelet who led Chile between 2006 and 2010 is seeking to push ahead with wide-reaching policies including a hike in corporate taxes to pay for social reforms.
