Center-Right Candidate Takes Edge in Chile Presidential Poll
Center-Right Candidate Takes Edge in Chile Presidential Poll
(Bloomberg) -- Chile’s center-right presidential candidate Sebastian Sichel took the lead in the latest opinion poll, indicating the November election is wide open in the South American nation.
Sichel obtained 24% of voter intentions in the survey published Monday, while support for former student protest leader Gabriel Boric dropped to 21% from 30% two weeks ago. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Senate President and Christian Democrat Yasna Provoste was backed by 10%.
The election outcome is hard to predict as Chileans turn their backs on traditional parties that have ruled since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship three decades ago. Sichel is running as an independent, while Boric is backed by an alliance of left-wing parties, many just a few years old. About 28% of respondents in the poll said they were unsure of who they would vote for.
Chile’s peso temporarily reversed earlier losses and gained as much as 0.5% after the poll was published. It was little changed at 789.78 per dollar at 10:56 a.m. local time in Santiago.
The opinion poll carried out by Cadem interviewed 702 people between Aug. 4-6.
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