MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

A tight run off Bachelet-Piñera next January

The ruling coalition candidate Socialist Michelle Bachelet led Chile's presidential elections on Sunday but will have to face a tight run-off with a conservative rival in January when she could become the country's first woman president.

With 82% of the votes counted, (almost 5.7 million), Chile's Ministry of Interior said Bachelet had 45.8% and opposition candidate Sebastian Pinera, a billionaire moderate conservative was runner up with 25.7% percent and Joaquin Lavin a radical conservative, 23.3%.

If elected Bachelet, a separated mother of three who was tortured during Chile's 1973-1990 dictatorship, would extend the 15-year rule of a centre-left coalition that has cut poverty by half and overseen the country's transformation into the region's star economy.

Bachelet, a medical doctor and former defence minister, has pledged to overhaul Chile's private pension system and continue the liberal social programs and free-market economic policies of her mentor, popular President Ricardo Lagos.

About 8.2 million voters were expected to cast ballots in elections to pick a president as well as 120 congressional deputies and 20 Senators. Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, 67, who can't run in this election and is seen as the great winner paving the way for Ms Bachelet, will step down in March after six years in office with a 71% approval rating, according to the poll.

Lagos said Sunday after waiting in line to vote that the country, which this year ended a Pinochet-era rule setting aside Senate seats for military officers, is more democratic than it was when he came to office. Lagos also said that Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, needs to ensure that all its citizens benefit from its expanding economy.

"This growth has to get to each Chilean'' underlined Lagos. "I have no doubt that Michelle Bachelet will defeat Piñera (in a second round)," Foreign Relations Minister Ignacio Walker said at the convention centre where results were announced.

But political scientist Patricio Navia cautioned that Bachelet would have a tough fight in January. "This is not good news for Bachelet," he said, noting that the combined total of votes for the two right wing candidates exceeded those for Bachelet (45% vs 49%).

Other analysts have said not all Lavin supporters could be counted on to vote for Piñera in a second round. Even so, Bachelet's centre-left bloc was also seen taking firm control of both houses of Congress in Congressional elections.

Mr Lavin said he would throw his support behind Mr Piñera. He announced on television he was going "to congratulate Sebastian, to express my total support". The two men's combined vote was running at 49%, which suggests the run-off could be tight. However analysts estimate that the 5.15% cast for fourth-placed communist candidate Tomas Hirsch was likely to go to Bachelet.

In 2000 a very tight run off between the ruling coalition candidate and conservative Joaquin Lavin, then Santiago's mayor, just barely managed to get Mr. Lagos elected president.