The current governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Claudio Orregowas re-elected this Sunday with 55.02% of the votes in the second round of the regional elections in Chile. His opponent, the lawyer and television commentator Francisco Orregoobtained 44.98% according to the Electoral Service (Servel), with 99.27% of the votes counted.
“We said at the beginning of the campaign that it was not a national plebiscite, that it was a campaign about the region, about Santiago, about the type of leadership that this region required, and we won that battle”said Orrego after confirming his victory.
“We can argue passionately, but respecting each other. Chile is tired of violence, not only physical, but also verbal, let’s learn to treat each other well and never insult anyone again, especially women.”he added.
As an independent backed by the parties of the government led by the president Gabriel Boricthe now re-elected governor stressed the importance of overcoming polarization and promoting dialogue.
“Today moderation has won over polarization; “Cooperation over confrontation and dialogue over insult.”he expressed during his speech.
For its part, Francisco Orrego He acknowledged defeat and congratulated his rival.
“The best of successes for these four years (…) has my support so that things can improve“, he said, while highlighting the achievements of his campaign team, describing her as “tremendous, beautiful, purposeful and full of hope.”
Meanwhile, from the La Moneda Palace, the president Gabriel Boric He described the election day as “very good news for Chile.”
The president expressed satisfaction with the development of the elections and thanked the witnesses for their work, the Servelthe municipalities and the Armed and Law Enforcement Forces in guaranteeing an orderly and transparent process.
Boric highlighted that this is the second time that the highest regional authorities are directly elected by citizens, a milestone achieved thanks to the reform promoted in 2021 during the government of the former president. Michelle Bachelet.
Furthermore, he stressed the relevance of the Mining Royalty Lawimplemented during his mandate, as a contribution to the regions.
“Regional governments and municipalities today have more resources for the development of each of the regional territories,” he noted.
In this second electoral round, 11 of the 16 regions of Chile participated, after a first round held in October in which no candidate exceeded 40% of the votes, a minimum figure to avoid a runoff.
The ruling coalition control of 10 governorateswhile the right obtained 6.
Among the triumphs of the ruling party, the re-election of Rodrigo Mundaca in the Valparaiso Regionwho obtained the 62.7% of the votes compared to 37.2% of the conservative candidate María José Hoffmann.
In the south of the country, the independent René Saffirio won the governorship of The Araucanía with 51.3%, surpassing the current right-wing governor, Luciano Rivaswhich reached 48.6%.
The traditional right managed to consolidate its position in southern regions such as the Maule y The Lakesgoing from having a single governorate to controlling six in total.
Election day was marked by an atmosphere of high political tension. One of the factors that generated controversy was the case of former Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalveaccused of rape and sexual abuse.
Monsalve, who has been in preventive detention since Tuesday, faces charges for alleged crimes committed against a subordinate. According to initial investigations, the events occurred after a social outing in September. The case generated criticism of the government of Gabriel Boricparticularly due to the decision to keep Monsalve in office for almost 48 hours after the complaint became known.
Analysts highlight that, although the ruling coalition won more governorships, the total votes show parity between the left and the right.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
