Elections in Chile

The right to vote in Chile extends to all Chilean citizens aged 18 or older on election day. Foreign nationals who have been legal residents for a continuous period of at least five years are also eligible. Chile operates a system of automatic voter registration, under which all eligible individuals are added to the electoral roll by default. Voting is compulsory for those registered, as it has been since 2023, following an eleven-year period (2012–2023) when voting was voluntary. Since 2014, Chilean citizens living abroad have been able to vote in presidential elections (including primaries) and national referendums from their country of residence. ==Presidential elections==

The President of Chile is both the head of state and head of government and is directly elected to a single, non-renewable four-year term. A former president may run for office again after sitting out at least one term. The election is conducted by popular vote under a runoff system. To win outright in the first round, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of valid votes (calculated by excluding spoiled and blank ballots). If no candidate achieves this, a second round is held between the top two finishers. Based on the 2025 elections, for example, this requirement amounted to 35,361 signatures. Under the constitution, the first round of the presidential election is held on the third Sunday of November in the year before the incumbent's term expires. A potential runoff follows on the fourth Sunday thereafter. The president-elect is inaugurated on the day the outgoing president's term concludes, which has been March 11 in every election since the return to democracy in 1990. Prior to a 2011 electoral reform, the first round was scheduled 90 days before the end of the presidential term, moved to the following Sunday if that date fell on a weekday. Any runoff was held 30 days after the first round, also adjusted to a Sunday. ==Parliamentary elections==

Chile's legislature, the National Congress, is a bicameral body composed of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house). Parliamentary elections are held concurrently with presidential elections, as stipulated by the constitution. Under this system, the two electoral lists (whether from a pact, a party, or independents) that received the most votes in a district would typically each win one seat. For one list to win both seats, it needed to at least double the vote total of the second-place list. and significantly altered the composition of Congress. After the 2015 electoral reform, Chileans elect the members of both houses of Congress through a form of open list proportional representation in multi-member districts (which can range from 3 to 8 seats in the lower house and from 2 to 5 in the upper house). Parties or party coalitions present lists to voters in each electoral district. Each voter casts one vote for a candidate on any list. Once voting concludes, seats in each district are allocated through the D'Hondt method, ordering lists from highest to lowest according to total votes and ordering candidates within each list by the same principle. Seats are allocated in order of preference but not necessarily proportionally. Criticism The binomial system was introduced by the military dictatorship that ruled Chile until 1990. It replaced the proportional representation system used before the 1973 coup. The design of the two-seat districts—often drawn to over-represent conservative rural areas that had supported the Pinochet regime—was a frequent target of criticism. The disparity between votes and seats was particularly pronounced in districts where the regime had performed poorly in the 1988 plebiscite. Amending the system was difficult, as it was protected by constitutional provisions requiring a three-fifths supermajority in both houses of Congress. The left often condemned it as undemocratic, and argued that it encouraged the formation of broad, cohesive coalitions. ==Regional elections==

Each of Chile's regions is governed by a directly elected regional governor (Gobernador Regional), who is supported by an elected board of regional councilors (Consejeros Regionales, or COREs). The regional governor is elected via a two-round system to a four-year term and is eligible for one immediate re-election. A candidate can avoid a runoff by winning at least 40 percent of the vote in the first round. Regional councilors also serve four-year terms and may be re-elected for up to two consecutive terms. The number of councilors per region is determined by a formula based on the region's population and geographic area. • Regional governors: A 2017 constitutional amendment allowed for the direct election of regional governors, with specific regulations enacted into law in February 2018. • Councilors served four-year terms with no term limits. They were elected 15 days after municipal councilors took office and were sworn in 60 days after their election. The law governing the election of regional governors specified that future elections would be synchronized with those for mayors and municipal councilors. However, full synchronization was not immediate; while the first gubernatorial election was held in 2021, the first synchronized election for all local and regional offices (governors, mayors, councilors, and regional councilors) took place in October 2024. ==Municipal elections==

In each of Chile's municipalities (comunas), voters directly elect one mayor (alcalde) and a municipal council (concejo municipal). Since a 2004 reform, mayors and councilors have been elected on separate ballots, allowing for split-ticket voting. Municipal elections are held on the last Sunday of October. Newly elected officials take office on December 6. Subsequent elections were held in 2021. The most recent election took place in October 2024, synchronized for the first time with elections for regional governors. ==Referendums==

National referendums The Constitution provides for binding national referendums (plebiscitos), but only under a specific condition. This mechanism is triggered when a constitutional reform passed by Congress is fully vetoed by the president, and Congress then re-approves the identical reform by a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Faced with this scenario, the president has the option to either promulgate the reform or call a referendum to let the electorate decide. ==Primary elections==

Chile employs a system of state-administered, legally binding primary elections to select candidates for president, senator, deputy, and mayor. Presidential and congressional primaries are held on the same day. Primaries can be conducted by a single political party or by a coalition of parties, known as a "pact." Independent candidates may participate if they are formally backed by a participating party or pact. However, an independent cannot run in a congressional primary if their supporting party is not part of a pact. Parties are permitted to form different pacts for presidential and parliamentary primaries. The rules for voter eligibility in a primary are set by the organizing party or pact. They may choose to open their primary to unaffiliated voters or even to voters registered with other parties. The exception is a presidential primary that includes an independent candidate; in that case, independent voters must be allowed to participate. ==Voting==

To vote, Chilean citizens must present a valid form of identification—either a national identity card (issued within the last year) or a current passport. Foreign residents eligible to vote must present their identity card. The process is conducted in person by secret ballot. ==Suffrage==

The history of suffrage in Chile since 1833 reflects a gradual expansion of voting rights: • From 1833: Suffrage was restricted to literate men over the age of 25 (if unmarried) or 21 (if married) who also owned a certain amount of property or capital as defined by law (Article 8 of the 1833 Constitution). • The 1884 Election Law removed the property requirement for men but explicitly barred women from voter registration. • From 1925: The franchise was extended to all literate men over the age of 21 (Article 7 of the 1925 Constitution). • From 1934: Women gained the right to vote in a limited form. Literate women over 25 could vote in municipal elections, while men over 21 could vote in all elections (Law No. 5,357). • From 1949: Full universal suffrage was achieved, with the right to vote extended to all literate men and women over 21 (Law No. 9,292). • From 1970: The voting age was lowered to 18 and the literacy requirement was abolished for all citizens (Law No. 17,284, amending the 1925 Constitution; later retained in Article 13 of the 1980 Constitution). Women's suffrage No Chilean constitution has explicitly prohibited women from voting. The constitutional term chilenos (meaning "Chileans") was interpreted as gender-neutral in its plural form, referring to the Chilean people as a whole. Therefore, extending the vote to women was accomplished through statutory law rather than a constitutional amendment. Despite these legal expansions, the electorate remained limited in practice. As late as the 1950s, largely due to literacy requirements, only about 20 percent of the Chilean population was eligible to vote. ==Voter turnout==

Election turnout since 1925. :Note: Since 2017, enrollment and turnout figures for presidential elections, presidential primaries, and plebiscites include voters from abroad. Notes: a Excludes 200,638 affiliates from non-participating political parties. b Held in 10 out of 60 electoral districts. c Held in 93 out of 346 communes. d Excludes affiliates from non-participating political parties. h Excludes 273,017 affiliates and 445,722 'pending' affiliates from non-participating political parties, and 21,270 electors from abroad. j Held in 7 out of 28 electoral districts. k Excludes affiliates and 'pending' affiliates from non-participating political parties. m Revised provisional results. n Held in 36 out of 346 communes. o Provisional results including 99.91% of ballot boxes. p Provisional results including 99.84% of ballot boxes. q Held in 13 out of 16 regions. r Provisional results including 99.99% of ballot boxes. • Voting Age Population: An estimation of the country's population over the age of 21 (1952–1969) and 18 (1970–2013) on the day of the election. Source: Note: The UN provides data estimated for July 1 of each year disaggregated by age. Linear interpolation was applied to obtain the population for election day. For 2016 mayoral primaries and November 19, 2017, elections: COMUNAS: ACTUALIZACIÓN POBLACIÓN 2002-2012 Y PROYECCIONES 2013-2020, National Statistics Institute of Chile. For 2020 elections: Estimaciones y proyecciones 1992-2050, país, National Statistics Institute of Chile. Note: VAP is for June 30. • Source: Electoral Service (1925–1973; 1988–2010; 2012; 2013; 2016 (primaries); 2016 (municipal) ; 2017 (presidential primaries); 2017 (lower-chamber primaries and November 19, 2017, elections); 2021 (regional governors)). • Source: Electoral Service (1925–1969 and 1973 as a percentage only; 1970; 1988–2012; 2013 (primaries); 2013 (regional boards); 2013 (deputies); 2013 (Senate); 2013 (president); 2016 (primaries); 2016 (municipal); 2017). Values for 1952–1969 and 1973 derived from columns 3, 4 and 7. • Turnout as a percentage of the voting age population. ==See also==