MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Conservative ex president Piñera leads Chilean polls, but 40% of voters still undecided

When asked who they would like to be the next president of Chile, 24% of respondents backed Piñera, with 13% selecting Guillier, according to the CEP poll.

Conservative former president Sebastian Piñera has pulled further ahead of center-left hopeful Alejandro Guillier in Chile's presidential race, but the two remain the favorites to face off in the November election, a closely watched poll released on Friday showed.

 When asked who they would like to be the next president of Chile, 24% of respondents backed Piñera, with 13% selecting Guillier, according to the CEP poll.

That compared with 20% for Piñera and 14% for Guillier in December.

The election will give Chileans a chance to decide whether they want a continuation of President Michelle Bachelet's tax-and-spend approach to reducing inequality. Piñera has criticized her policies as irresponsible, but powerful social movements are demanding yet deeper reforms.

Bachelet herself is constitutionally barred from running for a consecutive term.

Guillier appears to have lost ground to other candidates. In particular, leftist Beatriz Sanchez, who is backed by popular former student movement leaders who are now lawmakers, is garnering support among young, metropolitan voters.

Sanchez, whose Frente Amplio coalition says it wants the state rather than the market to provide education, health and pensions, still has just 5% of support, the poll showed.

However, Sanchez, who entered the race in March and is still a relative unknown, receives the highest approval rating of any politician among those who have heard of her. More than 40% of respondents were still undecided on how they would vote.

Piñera, a billionaire who ran Chile between 2010 and 2014, was seen as an uncharismatic, unpopular leader, but he has benefited from relatively united backing from right-wing parties and widespread disillusionment with Bachelet's administration.

Political newcomer Guillier initially polled well as Chileans warmed to his fresh message, but he has lost momentum as his campaign has struggled to articulate clear policies and other candidates on the left, including Sanchez, have split the vote.

If no candidate obtains 50% or more of the vote in November, the election goes to a runoff in December. In a second round, Guillier would lose to Piñera by 29% to 33%, the poll showed. A survey in April also showed a close result.

CEP polled 1,481 people between April 26 and May 22, with a margin of error of three percentage points.