Chilean presidential election, 2009

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Chilean presidential election, 2009
December 13, 2009
Candidate		Jorge Arrate	Marco Enríquez-Ominami
Party		Communist Party	Independent
Alliance		Juntos Podemos Más	New Majority
Opinion polls
May-Jun. [59]		1%	13%
Jul.-Aug. [60]		1%	17%
Oct. [61]		5%	19%
Candidate		Sebastián Piñera	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Party		National Renewal	Christian Democrat Party
Alliance		Coalition for Change	Concertación
Opinion polls
May-Jun. [62]		37%	30%
Jul.-Aug. [63]		37%	28%
Oct. [64]		36%	26%

Chile

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Chile

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The Chilean presidential election of 2009 is scheduled to take place on Sunday December 13, 2009,^[1] with a run-off scheduled for January 17, 2010 if no candidate gains more than 50% of the valid vote. The winner will succeed Michelle Bachelet on March 11, 2010. Parliamentary elections will take place on the same day.

Chilean politics are dominated by two main coalitions: the center-left Concert of Parties for Democracy (Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia), composed of the Christian Democrat Party, the Socialist Party, the Party for Democracy, and the Social Democrat Radical Party; and the center-right^[2] Alliance for Chile (Alianza por Chile), composed of the Independent Democrat Union and National Renewal. The Concertación has selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle as their candidate, while the Alianza has chosen former presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera, who is supported by the newly created Coalition for Change electoral group. The far-left Juntos Podemos Más pact selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its candidate. Another former Socialist party member, deputy Marco Enríquez-Ominami (MEO), is currently running as independent, with considerable popular support.

Opinion polls show Piñera would outpoll every other candidate in a first round scenario, but would not win the majority needed to take the presidency outright (50% of the valid vote plus 1 vote). His contender in a possible runoff would be former President Frei, although some polls show MEO could become Piñera's contender by outpolling Frei by a slight margin. In a runoff scenario, Piñera is statistically tied if paired with either Frei or MEO, but the independent candidate would have a better chance to beat Piñera than the former President at that stage.

Contents 1 Summary of candidates 2 Coalition for Change candidate 2.1 Party pre-candidates 3 Concertación candidate 3.1 Party pre-candidates 3.2 Primary results 4 Juntos Podemos candidate 4.1 Party pre-candidates 4.2 Primary results 5 Independent candidate 6 Declined candidacies 7 Opinion polls 7.1 First-round scenarios 7.2 Runoff scenarios 7.2.1 Frei vs. Piñera 7.2.2 Enríquez-Ominami vs. Piñera 7.2.3 Arrate vs. Piñera 7.2.4 Enríquez-Ominami vs. Frei 8 Debates 9 Results 10 Timeline 11 References

Summary of candidates

The following are the four official candidates for President:

Candidate	Endorsement	Political affiliation
Jorge Arrate Communist Party of Chile	Juntos Podemos Más New Left[3]	Left
Marco Enríquez-Ominami Independent	Ecologist Party Humanist Party Broad Social Movement[4]	Center-left
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Christian Democrat Party	Concertación Country Force	Center-left
Sebastián Piñera National Renewal	Coalition for Change	Center-right

Coalition for Change candidate

Sebastián Piñera (RN)

Both Alliance for Chile parties —RN and UDI— chose Sebastián Piñera as their candidate for president, now under the banner of a larger electoral pact, the Coalition for Change, which also includes the newly formed party ChileFirst and other minor groups.

Party pre-candidates

Party	Candidate	Remarks
RN	Sebastián Piñera	Piñera participated in Hernán Büchi's 1989 presidential campaign and was later elected to the Senate. He was a potential presidential nominee in 1993, but his chances were ruined by a conflict with Evelyn Matthei that came to be known as Piñeragate. In 1999 he again attempted to be the nominee, but was defeated in the convention by Joaquín Lavín. In 2005 he shook the political scene by jumping into the first round independently of the UDI. Polls show him narrowly beating Frei in a runoff scenario. He was officially proclaimed by RN on August 8, 2009.[5] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009.[6]
UDI	Sebastián Piñera	The UDI officially proclaimed Piñera as its candidate on August 22, 2009.[7] Piñera had been proposed as the party's candidate by the UDI's Consejo Directivo in December 2008.[8] Pre-candidates: Evelyn Matthei: She is the daughter of Air Force General Fernando Matthei, a member of the military junta that took power in the 1973 coup. She was a member of National Renewal, but in 1992 was embroiled in a conflict with Sebastián Piñera, ending with her leaving the party and joining the UDI. She has been mentioned as a potential UDI candidate, considering she is among the leading proponents of having the UDI bring its own candidate to the first round. She has said it would be "fun" to compete against Piñera. Longueira said on October 9, 2008 that she would be an excellent candidate. On October 11, 2008, she said she was willing to run for president.[9] She announced her precandidacy on October 14, 2008.[10] Potential candidates: Joaquín Lavín: He earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Chicago. Afterwards, in 1992, Lavín was elected mayor of Las Condes, a stronghold of the right, with 31% of the vote and reelected in 1997 with 78% of the vote. Lavín was the presidential candidate for the UDI-RN coalition Alliance for Chile in the 1999 election. He eventually lost to PS/PPD candidate Ricardo Lagos in a runoff by 200,000 votes. Lavín again represented UDI in the 2005 presidential election, but ended in third place with 23.23% of the vote, due the presence of another right-wing candidate in the race, Sebastián Piñera, who made it to the runoff election with 25.41% of the vote. Pablo Longueira has urged him to run for a third time for the presidential elections, but he has refused and may end up running for a senate seat in the Valparaíso Region.[11] Hernán Larraín: He is a senator and former president of the UDI. Longueira said on October 9, 2008 that he would be an excellent candidate. Declined candidacies: Hernán Büchi: A possible candidacy by the 1990 presidential candidate generated buzz within the UDI in June 2007. He has however declined a candidacy. Pablo Longueira: The senator officially launched his candidacy on March 30, 2007. He had announced his plans before the 2005 election took place. He stepped down "momentarily" due to "low party support" on May 3, 2007.[12] Jacqueline van Rysselberghe: The mayor of Concepción was proclaimed, on October 11, 2006, as candidate by five UDI deputies from the Biobío Region. She has refused to campaign for the nomination, however, preferring to concentrate on her 2008 campaign for reelection as mayor. She as reelected as Concepción mayor in October 2008.
CH1	Sebastián Piñera	ChileFirst decided to support Piñera on March 29, 2009 after its leader, senator Fernando Flores, declined to run for president.[13] It officially proclaimed him on August 15, 2009.[14] Declined candidacies: Fernando Flores: The former minister of Salvador Allende and current senator launched a failed presidential bid for the 2005 election. He resigned from the PPD in early 2007 and launched a new party, ChileFirst. On March 29, 2009 ChileFirst decided to support Piñera after Flores declined to run for president.[13]

Concertación candidate

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (PDC)

The Concertación selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle from the Christian Democrat Party as its single candidate for president. The selection process involved a single regional primary on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions between Frei and José Antonio Gómez from the Social Democrat Radical Party. Frei won with 65% versus 35% of Gómez. Had the percentage difference between both candidates been less than 20%, the selection process would have continued with additional primaries in other regions until May 17. Frei was legally proclaimed as presidential candidate by the PPD on August 1, 2009[15] and by the PDC, PS and PRSD on August 22, 2009.[16] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 12, 2009.[17]

Party pre-candidates

Each Concertación party selected its own pre-candidate for president. Only Frei and Gómez submitted their candidacies before the January 26, 2009 deadline.

Party	Candidate	Remarks
PRSD	José Antonio Gómez	He was proclaimed by his party on November 13, 2008. He had announced his pre-candidacy two days earlier.[18]
PDC	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle	He was proclaimed by his party on December 13, 2008.[19] Other candidates: Pablo Lorenzini: On December 16, 2008, he said he was supporting Frei's candidacy.[20] Marcelo Trivelli: He announced his candidacy on June 10, 2007 during a television interview. Despite his lack of a support base, he declared himself the candidate of "honesty and sincerity" and respect towards the Constitution.[21] Trivelli received heavy criticism from his own party because of his decision to run, and many party members declared it was not the appropriate time for candidacies.[22] Trivelli has embarked on a number of trips around the country in order to create enough support to sustain his candidacy.[23] Decined candidacy: Soledad Alvear: She was constantly mentioned as a potential contender in 2009 ever since she resigned from her candidacy in favor of Bachelet. Her supporters, the alvearistas, controlled most of the PDC institutions and she commanded widespread support in the party, despite the vocal opposition of fellow Senator Adolfo Zaldívar. On December 6, 2007, she was unofficially proclaimed a presidential candidate by Christian Democrat deputy Pablo Lorenzini.[24] She declared herself a candidate on June 23, 2008 during a television interview.[25] On October 28, 2008, she stepped out of the race for the presidency and resigned as PDC president after disappointing results in the municipal elections held two days earlier.
PS	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle	The PS selected Frei as its candidate on January 17, 2009. He was the only person to submit a candidacy to the PS presidential convention. Declined candidacies: José Miguel Insulza: He declared himself a candidate on December 12, 2008.[26] He, however, declined his candidacy on January 5, 2009, and gave his support to Frei. Ricardo Lagos: His government was highly popular and his term ended with approval ratings around 60-70%. Various supporters urged him to run again in 2009. However, his popularity has lately seen a sharp fall due to the catastrophic new transport system (Transantiago), planned under his presidency. Lagos has declared all doors are open to him, but has refused to confirm whether he will participate. In March 2008, he said it was unbecoming as a former head of state to participate in a primary and would refuse to do so.[27] On November 8, 2008, he was proclaimed unanimously by the PPD's National Directive as its candidate, but Lagos never accepted the nomination.[28] On December 2, 2008, the PPD officially proclaimed Lagos as its candidate for the presidency.[29] However, two days later, Lagos ruled out running for the presidency, stating in a press conference "I am not, nor will I be, a presidential candidate".[30]
PPD	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle	The PPD selected Frei as its candidate on January 24, 2009, with 296 votes from the party's National Council, against seven for PRSD candidate José Antonio Gómez.[31] Other candidates: Sergio Bitar: In a May 4, 2007 interview with La Tercera, he said he was willing to be his party's presidential nominee if there was enough support.[32] On November 7, 2008 he said that he is "without a doubt" willing to compete eventually for the presidency, but only if Ricardo Lagos's candidacy does not prosper.[33] He declined his candidacy on November 10, 2008, following Lagos's proclamation by his party.[34] Now that Lagos is out of the race, he may attempt a second run. Nicolás Eyzaguirre: He has said that he could participate if Lagos declines to, but he remained silent after Lagos declined his candidacy. Ricardo Lagos: On December 4, 2008 he ruled out running for the presidency, stating in a press conference "I am not, nor will I be, a presidential candidate".[30]
Independent candidates	None	Failed candidacies: Marco Enríquez-Ominami: On December 15, 2008, he announced he was available to compete with Insulza in a Socialist Party primary.[35] He, however, did not submit his candidacy to the PS presidential convention. On January 9, 2009, he agreed to compete in the Concertación primaries as independent after gaining the support of some council people and legislators.[36]

Primary results

The primary was carried out on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions. Frei became the single Concertación candidate by beating Gómez with an advantage above 20%, cancelling the need for further regional primaries.

Final results.^[37]

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Result
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle	DC	40,140	64.90	Concertación candidate
José Antonio Gómez	PRSD	21,703	35.09
Valid votes		61,843	100
Null votes		222	0.35
Blank votes		317	0.50
Total votes		62,382	100

Juntos Podemos candidate

Jorge Arrate (Communist Party of Chile)

The Juntos Podemos Más coalition of far-left parties selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its sole candidate for president on April 25, 2009. He was officially proclaimed as candidate on April 26, 2009.[38] In July 2009, after his candidacy lost the support of the Humanist Party, he became a member of the Communist Party in order to comply with the law and run for president. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009.[39]

Party pre-candidates

Party	Candidate	Remarks
PCCh	Guillermo Teillier	Teillier launched his candidacy on September 26, 2008. He said he is willing to step down in order to put forward a single candidate for the Juntos Podemos coalition of left-parties.[40] In November 2008 he said he would be willing to participate in a primary between him, Hirsch and Alejandro Navarro, who had quit the Socialist Party.[41] Teillier stepped down as Juntos Podemos pre-candidate on April 25, 2009, giving his support to Jorge Arrate, saying he was the right person according to the country's political moment.
PH	Tomás Hirsch	Hirsch was among the founders of the Humanist Party and vied unsuccessfully for seats in the Chamber of Deputies as part of the Concertación. In 1993, the PH broke off from the coalition. In 1999 he was the Humanist presidential candidate, but lost in the first round. In 2005, he again participated in the presidential campaign, now with the additional support of the communists. He garnered a little over 5% of the vote. In an interview with Biobío Radio in September 1, 2007, Hirsch criticized the Concertación and the Alianza and declared that he would he "happy to be a candidate" if the members of his coalition agree.[42] On June 7, 2008 he announced he intended to run for the presidency for the third time as the PH candidate, under the Juntos Podemos umbrella.[43]
Independent (Socialista-allendista)	Jorge Arrate	Arrate is a member of the more leftist faction of the PS and had been mentioned as a potential candidate in an alliance of this faction and the Juntos Podemos Más pact. He formally announced his candidacy on January 27, 2008, pressured by a group of socialists opposed to the Socialist Party leadership[44]. On November 20, 2008, Arrate was proclaimed as candidate by a group of Socialist Party Central Committee members.[45] Arrate resigned from the PS on January 14, 2009.[46]. He was proclaimed as presidential candidate on January 18, 2009 by a group of Socialist Party members, the so-called "socialistas-allendistas.[47]

Primary results

The election to define the sole Juntos Podemos candidate was carried out on April 25, 2009 in Santiago. Arrate beat Hirsch and became the single Juntos Podemos candidate.

Final results.^[48]

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Result
Jorge Arrate	Ind.	1,145	77.57	Juntos Podemos candidate
Tomás Hirsch	PH	331	22.42
Valid votes		1,476	100
Null votes		6	0.40
Blank votes		2	0.13
Total votes		1,484	100

Independent candidate

Marco Enríquez-Ominami (Ind.)

On December 15, 2008, he announced he was available to compete with Insulza in a Socialist Party primary.[35] He, however, did not submit his candidacy to the PS presidential convention. On January 9, 2009, he agreed to compete in the Concertación primaries as independent after gaining the support of some council people and legislators.[36] He did not submit his candidacy, however. Instead he is running as an independent and as of August, 2009, polling above 20% and thus threatening to displace one of the coalition-backed candidates in the expected run-off election. He was proclaimed candidate by the Humanist and Ecologist parties plus several other leftist groups under the banner of a new electoral pact, a New Majority for Chile, on September 13, 2009.[49] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 10, 2009.[50]

Declined candidacies

• Eduardo Artés (PC (AP)): He was proclaimed as Juntos Podemos pre-candidate by the Communist Party (Proletarian Action) on December 7, 2007.^[51] However, on July 26, 2008, the PC (AP) left the Juntos Podemos pact, accusing them of abandoning their founding principles in light of the pact's electoral deal with the Concertación for the upcoming October municipal elections.^[52] He quit his candidacy in July 2009. He said his candidacy was just an opportunity to present new ideas to the country, because being a candidate is something he can't afford, economically speaking.^[53]
• Leonardo Farkas (Ind.): He is an extravagant mining businessman.^[54] On December 5, 2008, he announced he was giving up his presidential candidacy.^[55]
• Pamela Jiles (Ind.): She is a journalist and television presenter. She launched her candidacy in February 2009 through a column in The Clinic magazine.^[56] On September 4, 2009 she stepped out of the race in support of Navarro.^[57]
• Luis Molina Vega (Ind.)^[58] The Civil Engineer from Tomé stepped out of the race in July 2009, due to low support.^[59]
• Alejandro Navarro (MAS): He has characterized himself as a leader in the "dissident" faction of the Socialist Party, which harshly criticizes what they call the "neoliberal" economic model and supports Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.^{[citation needed]} Despite his involvement in a scandal due to his participation in a recent protest organized by the Unitary Workers Central where he attacked a policeman and the possibility of being expelled from the Senate, Navarro has already declared himself to be a presidential candidate for 2008. In November, 2008, he quit the PS to form a new party called Movimiento Amplio Social. He said his candidacy was necessary to "stop Piñera from winning in the first round" and still considers himself a Socialist.^[60] The MAS proclaimed him its candidate on November 11, 2008. The MAS is open to stage a primary between all leftist candidates that are not part of the Concertación.^[61] Navarro has proposed to hold the primary on April 2009.^[62] On May 5, 2009 Navarro said he would step out of the race and support Arrate if polls released from then to September show the Juntos Podemos candidate having an advantage of seven points over him. He didn't rule out Arrate then supporting Enríquez-Ominami, if his candidacy was the strongest.^[63] Navarro was proclaimed as MAS candidate on July 25, 2009 with the support of other minor left groups.^[64] He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 14, 2009.^[65] On September 22, 2009 Navarro announced he was stepping out of the race and gave his support to Enríquez-Ominami.^[66]
• Adolfo Zaldívar (PRI): The former president of the PDC and current senator lost the last internal PDC primary to Alvear. He is the brother of former senator and former Interior Minister Andrés Zaldívar. He was expelled from the PDC in December 2007. He is now part of the Regionalist Party of the Independents (PRI) and intends to run as president representing that collectivity. Zaldívar was proclaimed by the PRI on April 26, 2009.^[67] This decision was ratified on August 29, 2009.^[68] He stepped out of the race on September 14, 2009, just hours before the deadline for submission.^[69]

Opinion polls

List of opinion polls released within a year of the election. Only responses from persons registered to vote are shown.

Legend
—	Not in the list
	Wins election
	May win election
	Runoff
	May go to a runoff

First-round scenarios

Publisher	Field date	Date published	Arrate	MEO	Frei	Navarro	Piñera	Zaldívar	Other	DK/NR	Comments
CEP	November 19-December 11, 2008	December 30, 2008	—	—	31	4	41	3	0	21	Source
La Segunda	December 18, 2008	December 19, 2008	—	—	36	3	46	3	0	12	Source
La Segunda	April 6, 2009	April 7, 2009	1	4	33	3	43	4	0	12	Source
La Tercera	April 6-7, 2009	April 12, 2009	—	3	33	5	42	2	0	15	Source
Imaginacción	April 4-26, 2009	May 11, 2009	—	10.5	32.4	3.2	38.3	4.4	0	11.2	Source
TNS Time	April 1-30, 2009	May 5, 2009	—	14	29	4	36	3	0	14	Source
La Tercera	April 21-23, 2009	April 26, 2009	—	10	28	3	35	3	1	20	Source
Ipsos	N/A	April N/A, 2009	0.3	5.1	25.4	—	43.3	—	—	25.9	Source
La Segunda	May 14, 2009	May 15, 2009	1	14	27	1	42	3	0	12	Source
Imaginacción	May 2-30, 2009	June 11, 2009	0.5	20.9	29.9	2.4	34.9	3.2	0	8.2	Source
TNS Time	May 4-30, 2009	June 2, 2009	1	24	25	1	33	2	0	14	Source
CEP	May 14-June 3, 2009	June 18, 2009	1	14	30	1	34	1	1	19	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	May 14-June 3, 2009	June 18, 2009	1	13	30	1	37	1	1	16	Ballot box vote. (Source)
Ipsos	May 18-June 1, 2009	June 9, 2009	1.4	20.6	24.9	1.3	34.4	1.1	0.1	16.2	Source
Imaginacción	June 1-30, 2009	July 14, 2009	2.3	21.5	28.2	0.9	35.9	1.8	0	9.4	Source
Mori	June 27-July 9, 2009	July 23, 2009	1	13	21	2	43	1	0	19	Source
La Segunda	July 8, 2009	July 10, 2009	2	15	27	1	38	2	0	15	Source
Imaginacción	July 1-31, 2009	August 12, 2009	3.5	21.9	26.7	0.6	36.7	1.1	0	9.5	Source
La Tercera	July 20-22, 2009	July 26, 2009	2	21	25	1	30	1	0	20	Source
CERC	July 17-August 3, 2009	August 12, 2009	1	14	25	1	39	0	0	20	Source
Ipsos	July 24-August 6, 2009	August 19, 2009	1.5	20.6	22.9	0.5	35.6	1.0	0.6	17.3	Source
Direct Media	August 5-6, 2009	August 12, 2009	1.63	15.48	21.28	0.63	34.43	0.69	0	25.86	Source
La Segunda	August 12, 2009	August 14, 2009	1	20	24	0	39	1	0	15	Source
Imaginacción	August 1-29, 2009	September 14, 2009	2.3	20.5	28.2	0.9	37.8	1.5	0	10.3	Source
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	1	16	30	1	35	1	0	16	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	1	17	28	1	37	1	0	15	Ballot box vote. (Source)
Imaginacción	September 1-30, 2009	October 14, 2009	4.5	20.4	25.7	0.3	38.4	1.4	0	9.3	Source
La Segunda	September 24, 2009	September 25, 2009	4	19	23	—	39	—	—	15	Source
Ipsos	September 16-October 6, 2009	October 21, 2009	3.7	17.8	27.2	—	36.7	—	0.3	14.3	Source
UDP	September 21-October 13, 2009	October 28, 2009	4.1	17.3	23.7	0.6	30.3	—	—	24.0	Source
La Tercera	October 5-8, 2009	October 10, 2009	6	24	20	—	39	—	—	11	Source
CERC	October 2-13, 2009	October 20, 2009	3	20	20	—	41	—	—	16	Source
El Mercurio-Opina	October 10-12 2009	October 18, 2009	4.9	21.5	22.8	—	38.0	—	—	12.7	Source
Giro País-Subjetiva	October 9-20, 2009	October 31, 2009	4.7	19.3	28.6	—	36.9	—	—	10.5	Source
Imaginacción	October 1-31, 2009	November 16, 2009	6.4	22.3	27.0	—	37.8	—	—	6.5	Source
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	4	17	26	—	35	—	—	18	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	5	19	26	—	36	—	—	14	Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	November 3-4, 2009	November 7, 2009	6.1	20.4	21.5	—	38.0	—	—	14.0	Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	December 5-6, 2009	December 9, 2009	6.8	19.5	22.6	—	38.2	—	—	12.9	Ballot box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Runoff scenarios

Frei vs. Piñera

Publisher	Field date	Date published	Frei	Piñera	DK/NR	Comments
CEP	November 19-December 11, 2008	December 30, 2008	34%	44%	22%	Source
Imaginacción	December 6-28, 2008	January 8, 2009	42.5%	44.8%	12.7%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	December 18, 2008	December 19, 2008	38%	46%	16%	Source
TNS Time	January N/A, 2009	January 31, 2009 (unverified)	40%	45%	15%	Source
Imaginacción	January 3-31, 2009	February 6, 2009	42.3%	45.6%	12.1%	Source
TNS Time	February 2-26, 2009	March 10, 2009 (unverified)	38%	43%	19%	Source
Imaginacción	February 7-28, 2009	March 4, 2009	43.4%	46.8%	9.8%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	March 5, 2009	March 6, 2009	37%	46%	17%	Source
TNS Time	March 2-30, 2009	March 31, 2009	41%	39%	20%	Source
Imaginacción	March 2-31, 2009	April 8, 2009	44.3%	44.7%	11.0%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	April 6, 2009	April 7, 2009	39%	45%	16%	Source
La Tercera	April 6-7, 2009	April 12, 2009	40%	46%	14%	Source
Imaginacción	April 4-26, 2009	May 11, 2009	43.2%	43.8%	13.0%	Source
TNS Time	April 1-30, 2009	May 5, 2009	41%	43%	16%	Source
CERC	April 13-27, 2009	May 14, 2009	33%	47%	20%	Source
La Tercera	April 21-23, 2009	April 26, 2009	39%	43%	18%	Source
Giro País-Subjetiva	April 30-May 10, 2009	May 16, 2009	40.8%	37.9%	21.3%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	May 14, 2009	May 15, 2009	34%	44%	22%	Source
Imaginacción	May 2-30, 2009	June 11, 2009	43.1%	44.2%	12.7%	Source
TNS Time	May 4-30, 2009	June 2, 2009	38%	43%	19%	Source
CEP	May 14-June 3, 2009	June 18, 2009	39%	39%	22%	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	May 14-June 3, 2009	June 18, 2009	39%	41%	20%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
Ipsos	May 18-June 1, 2009	June 9, 2009	39.6%	42.3%	18.1%	Source
Imaginacción	June 1-30, 2009	July 14, 2009	41.9%	43.3%	14.8%	Source
MORI	June 27-July 9, 2009	July 23, 2009	30%	46%	24%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	July 8, 2009	July 10, 2009	39%	43%	18%	Source
Imaginacción	July 1-31, 2009	August 12, 2009	42.8%	44.5%	12.7%	Source
CERC	July 17-August 3, 2009	August 12, 2009	36%	44%	20%	Source
Ipsos	July 24-August 6, 2009	August 19, 2009	38.1%	45.5%	16.4%	Source
Direct Media	August 5-6, 2009	August 12, 2009	30.97%	40.89%	28.14%	Source
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	39%	39%	22%	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	39%	42%	19%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD	August 12, 2009	August 14, 2009	36%	45%	19%	Source
Imaginacción	August 1-29, 2009	September 14, 2009	42.6%	44.6%	12.8%	Source
Imaginacción	September 1-30, 2009	October 14, 2009	42.2%	45.2%	12.6%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	September 24, 2009	September 25, 2009	38%	47%	15%	Source
Ipsos	September 16-October 6, 2009	October 21, 2009	39.6%	44.5%	15.9%	Source
UDP	September 21-October 13, 2009	October 28, 2009	36.3%	35.5%	28.2%	Source
La Tercera	October 5-8, 2009	October 10, 2009	39%	48%	13%	Source
El Mercurio-Opina	October 10-12, 2009	October 18, 2009	38.1%	42.5%	19.4%	Source
Giro País-Subjetiva	October 9-20, 2009	October 31, 2009	42.0%	42.2%	15.8%	Source
Imaginacción	October 1-31, 2009	November 16, 2009	42.1%	45.8%	12.1%	Source
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	36%	40%	24%	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	37%	43%	20%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	November 3-4, 2009	November 7, 2009	36.8%	42.7%	20.5%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	December 5-6, 2009	December 9, 2009	34.4%	42.5%	23.1%	Ballot box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Enríquez-Ominami vs. Piñera

Publisher	Field date	Date published	MEO	Piñera	DK/NR	Comments
La Segunda-UDD	May 14, 2009	May 15, 2009	37%	45%	18%	Source
MORI	June 27-July 9, 2009	July 23, 2009	23%	47%	30%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	July 8, 2009	July 10, 2009	36%	45%	19%	Source
La Tercera	July 20-22, 2009	July 26, 2009	22%	49%	29%	Source
CERC	July 17-August 3, 2009	August 12, 2009	29%	44%	27%	Source
Ipsos	July 24-August 6, 2009	August 19, 2009	40.3%	43.6%	16.1%	Source
Direct Media	August 5-6, 2009	August 12, 2009	31.29%	38.88%	29.83%	Source
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	33%	40%	27%	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	July 30-August 20, 2009	September 3, 2009	34%	44%	22%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
La Segunda-UDD	August 12, 2009	August 14, 2009	37%	45%	18%	Source
Imaginacción	September 1-30, 2009	October 14, 2009	39.3%	45.9%	14.8%	Source
La Segunda-UDD	September 24, 2009	September 25, 2009	40%	47%	13%	Source
Ipsos	September 16-October 6, 2009	October 21, 2009	42.3%	42.8%	14.9%	Source
UDP	September 21-October 13, 2009	October 28, 2009	36.4%	34.0%	29.6%	Source
La Tercera	October 5-8, 2009	October 10, 2009	43%	44%	13%	Source
El Mercurio-Opina	October 10-12, 2009	October 18, 2009	40.3%	42.9%	16.8%	Ballot-box vote. (Source)
Giro País-Subjetiva	October 9-20, 2009	October 31, 2009	41.1%	40.2%	18.7%	Source
Imaginacción	October 1-31, 2009	November 16, 2009	42.7%	43.4%	13.9%	Source
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	35%	37%	28%	Response to a questionnaire. (Source)
CEP	October 8-30, 2009	November 11, 2009	37%	40%	23%	Ballot box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	November 3-4, 2009	November 7, 2009	37.7%	41.9%	20.4%	Ballot-box vote. (Source)
El Mercurio-Opina	December 5-6, 2009	December 9, 2009	34.8%	40.7%	24.5%	Ballot-box vote. (Source)

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Arrate vs. Piñera

Publisher	Field date	Date published	Arrate	Piñera	DK/NR	Comments
La Tercera	October 5-8, 2009	October 10, 2009	33%	51%	16%	Source

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Enríquez-Ominami vs. Frei

Publisher	Field date	Date published	MEO	Frei	DK/NR	Comments
UDP	September 21-October 13, 2009	October 28, 2009	32.3%	31.9%	35.8%	Source

DK/NR: Don't know / No response.

Debates

The first debate was organized by TVN and took place in Studio #9 at the station's main headquarters in Santiago. It was broadcast live on September 23, 2009 at 10:40 p.m and included all four candidates. A poll published by Ipsos the following day, showed that Enríquez-Ominami, Arrate and Piñera were each considered to have had the best performance over the rest, with 29-30% of support, while Frei's showing only had the support of 9%. Frei was seen by 45% as the worst performer, followed by Piñera (37%), Arrate (10%) and Enríquez-Ominami (5%).^[70] Another poll by La Segunda found 23% thought Piñera had won the debate, followed by Arrate (21%), Enríquez-Ominami (15%) and Frei (9%). 31% thought none had won the debate.^[71]

The second debate was organized by Archi (Radio Broadcasters Association) and Mayor University. It took place at 8:30 AM on October 9, 2009. It was a radio-only debate, though some local 24-hour news channels broadcast live some parts of it. A poll carried out by Mayor University showed Piñera had won the debate by 41%, followed by Enríquez-Ominami (22%), Arrate (19%) and Frei Ruiz-Tagle (17%).^[72]

There was an online debate on November 4, organized by Terra and Radio Cooperativa. Only Arrate was present after the other three candidates declined to attend. Frei and Piñera had confirmed their presence in May, while Enríquez-Ominami backed down on the same day of the debate.

A debate to discuss regional issues took place on November 6 at 9 AM in Talca's casino. It was organized by the National Press Association (ANP) and was attended by all four candidates.

A fifth debate took place on November 9 at Canal 13's studios in Santiago, which was broadcast live at 10 PM. All four candidates were present. This debate was notable because the candidates were able to ask questions to one another and freely talk to each other.

The last debate was organized by the National Television Association (Anatel) and broadcast live on November 16 at 10 PM by all terrestrial television stations. All candidates attended. There was no audience present.

Results

First preliminary results will be announced by the Deputy Interior Minister at around 7 p.m. local time (10 p.m. GMT) on election day.^[73] Full results will be then published at http://elecciones.gob.cl/.

Ballot number	Candidate	Party/ Coalition	Votes	%	Result
1	Jorge Arrate Mac-Niven	PCCh/JPM
2	Marco Enríquez-Ominami Gumucio	Independent
3	Sebastián Piñera Echenique	RN/CFC
4	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle	PDC/CPD
	Total valid votes			100.00
	Null votes
	Blank votes
	Total votes			100.00
	Total voters enrolled		8,285,186	N/A% turnout
	Voting age population		12,277,915	67.48% registered

Timeline

• September 13, 2009: Deadline to enroll to vote in the upcoming elections.
• September 14, 2009: Deadline to submit candidacies before the Electoral Service (Servel).
• September 14, 2009: Electoral campaign begins.
• October 5, 2009: Draw supervised by Servel to assign a ballot number to each candidate.
• November 13, 2009: Electoral advertisement period starts.
• December 10, 2009: Electoral advertisement period ends.
• December 13, 2009: Election day. Electoral campaigning ends.

References

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