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                  Bachelet Wins First Round in Chile Election

   by Reuters

   Leftist candidate Michelle Bachelet was the clear winner in Chile's
   presidential election on Sunday, although she will have to wait until a
   second round runoff next month to seal her victory.

   With nine candidates running, the vote was fractured and Bachelet,
   seeking her second term as president, fell short of the 50 percent she
   needed for an outright first-round victory.

   Bachelet, who led Chile between 2006 and 2010 as its first female
   president, had just over 46 percent support with 83 percent of votes
   counted on Sunday night. Evelyn Matthei of the ruling right-wing
   coalition was second with around 25 percent.

   The two women will face each other in a runoff on December 15. Bachelet
   is expected to win by a wide margin, and she is promising an ambitious
   program of tax and education reform to tackle inequality in the top
   copper exporting country.

   Backers of the largely anti-establishment minor candidates likely will
   throw their support to Bachelet in the second round, or else abstain,
   so her eventual victory looks assured.
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   e-election/1792047.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-bachelet-wins-first-round-in-chile-election/1792047.html