The 2005 Chilean presidential election will take place on Sunday, December 11, 2005. If no candidate receives an absolute majority, a runoff election between the top two candidates will be held in January 2006. The winner of the election will succeed President Ricardo Lagos on March 11, 2006.

All citizens of Chile 18 years of age and older are eligible to register to vote, and registration is voluntary; however, voting is compulsory for every registered voter. An estimated 7 million citizens will vote in this election.

Chile's eight political parties form three coalitions in order to run Presidential candidates: the governing center-left Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia (Coalition of Parties for Democracy), the main opposition right-wing coalition Alianza Popular (Popular Alliance), and the extreme leftist coalition Pacto Juntos PODEMOS (Together WE CAN Pact).

Concertación

The Coalition consists of four parties: the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), the Party for Democracy (PPD), the Socialist Party (PS), and the Social Democrat Radical Party (PRSD). Since the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Concertación has won three consecutive Presidential elections. Two candidates are vying for the coalition's nomination in 2005; a primary will be held on July 31 to choose the nominee.

For the first time in Chilean history, both candidates in the Coalition are women. Political polls in Chile currently indicate that either candidate would trounce the right-wing Alliance nominee in a two-person race, leading to the widespread expectation that Chileans will elect their nation's first female President this December.

• Soledad Alvear (PDC): Alvear served in the cabinets of all three prior Concertación presidencies (Patricio Aylwin, Eduardo Frei, and Ricardo Lagos). Most recently, she was Foreign Minister.
• Michelle Bachelet (PS/PPD): Bachelet, currently leading in every major poll, served a brief tenure as Health Minister before President Lagos named her as Chile's first female Defense Minister in 2002. Her father, former air General Alberto Bachelet, was tortured and killed in 1974 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet; she herself spent time that year in two of Pinochet's torture centers in Santiago.

Alianza Popular

As the main opposition coalition in Chile, the Alianza is made up of two right-wing parties: the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and the National Renewal Party (RN).

Joaquín Lavín (UDI)

Lavín ran as the Alianza's nominee for President for 1999, losing in the runoff to Lagos. He is currently unopposed for the Alianza's nomination this year.

Pacto Juntos PODEMOS

The pact is made up mainly of the Communist and Humanist parties plus other political parties and social organizations. Its presidential candidates are consistently in third place, behind the two major coalitions. A final decision will be made in May 28 to nominate a candidate for the presidential race.

• Tomás Hirsch (Humanist): The Humanist Party is running Hirsch as its candidate for the PODEMOS nomination. Hirsch ran as the Humanist Party's nominee for President for 1999.
• Tomás Moulian (Communist): The Communists have proposed running the intellectual Moulian as its candidate for the election, but no decision has been made as of late.
• Jorge Pavez (Fuerza Social)
• Manuel Jacques (Izquierda Cristiana)
• Nicolás García Moreno (Bloque por el Socialismo)

See also

• Politics of Chile
• List of political parties in Chile