General elections are expected to be held in Chile in 2025 in line with the constitutional requirement for elections to be held every four years to elect members of the National Congress and the president. Incumbent president Gabriel Boric is ineligible to seek a second consecutive term according to the 1980 constitution.
Background
In the 2021 general elections Gabriel Boric defeated lawyer and politician José Antonio Kast, capitalizing on youth disenchantment, anger at former President Sebastian Pinera's term, and a slowing economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Originally a student protest leader during the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests, Boric promised to “leave behind once and for all the patriarchal inheritance of our society,” and take Chile in a more inclusive, progressive direction.[2] Upon his victory, Boric added that Chile under his leadership "needs transparent accounts, an orderly economy, because otherwise reforms we do can wind up being reversed."[3]
Since becoming President, Boric's government, where more than half of his cabinet are women,[4] has prioritized pension reform,[5] his proposals to nationalize lithium mining,[6] attempt to enact gun control measures,[7] expand LGBT rights in Chile,[8] progressive tax reforms,[9] and his government's efforts to approve a new Constitution.[10]
Since taking office, Boric has seen his approval ratings among voters decline significantly, to less than one-in-three approving of his performance. By May 2023, Boric's approval rating among the public was 28% and his disapproval rating was at 66%.[11] Boric's low approval ratings, combined with the Republican Party's victory in the 2023 Constitutional Council elections, and the rising popularity of Evelyn Matthei and José Antonio Kast in opinion polls, has led analysts to note Kast may make "further gains in the 2024 regional elections and place him as the front-runner for the 2025 presidential and parliamentary ballot."[12] Kast himself, considered to be a potential candidate in 2025, noted his party's victory in the Constitutional Council elections, saying that there was hope for "a major change in government" ahead of the next general election.[13]
Electoral system
The president is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held.
In the National Congress, the 155 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected from 28 multi-member constituencies with between three and eight seats by open listproportional representation. Seats are allocated by the d'Hondt method. The 50 members of the Senate are elected for eight-year terms, with around half of the Senators renewed at each general election. Senators are elected from 16 multi-member constituencies of between two and five seats based on the regions.[14]
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