MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pinochet's daughter seeks office in Chile politics

Lucia Pinochet Hiriart said she made her mind up to run at the last minute

The eldest daughter of Chile's former leader Augusto Pinochet is to run for a seat in municipal elections in October.

Lucia Pinochet Hiriart says she will stand as councillor in the Santiago district of Vitacura, where she lives. The municipal posts have limited power, but correspondents say the polls will test the political climate for the 2009 presidential election. Gen Pinochet died in 2006 without facing a full trial for the alleged crimes committed in his 17-year rule. Lucia Pinochet Hiriart signed up to run as an independent in the local council elections later this year which will elect new mayors and councillors. She signed up on Monday to stand as councillor in Vitacura, one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods of the Chilean capital. She, her siblings and mother were briefly detained in 2007 amid an investigation into whether they helped Gen Pinochet embezzle millions of dollars of public money during his rule. All but the eldest Pinochet son were cleared of the charges. Gen Pinochet, who died on 10 December 2006, was accused of fraud as well as human rights abuses, but poor health meant he never faced trial. More than 3,000 people were killed or "disappeared" during military rule in Chile between 1973 and 1990.