2009–10 Chilean presidential election
The first round of the Chilean presidential election of 2009–2010 was held on Sunday December 13, 2009. Based on the two-round system, since none of the candidates secured the absolute majority needed to take the presidency outright, a run-off between the two most-voted candidates —center-right Sebastián Piñera and center-left Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle— was held on Sunday, January 17, 2010. Piñera, who won the runoff with about 51.6% of the vote, succeeded Michelle Bachelet on March 11, 2010. Parliamentary elections took place on the same day.
Chilean politics is dominated by two main coalitions: the center-left Concert of Parties for Democracy, composed of the Christian Democrat Party, the Socialist Party, the Party for Democracy, and the Social Democrat Radical Party; and the center-right Alliance for Chile, composed of the Independent Democratic Union and National Renewal. The Concertación selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle as their candidate, while the Alianza chose former presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera, who is supported by the newly created Coalition for Change electoral group. The far-left Juntos Podemos Más pact selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its candidate. Another former Socialist party member, deputy Marco Enríquez-Ominami, ran as independent.
Summary of candidates
The following four were the official candidates for President:| Candidate | Endorsement | Political spectrum |
| Jorge Arrate Communist Party of Chile | Juntos Podemos Más New Left | Left |
| Marco Enríquez-Ominami Independent | New Majority for Chile Broad Social Movement | Center-left |
| Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Christian Democrat Party | Concertación Country Force | Center-left |
| Sebastián Piñera National Renewal | Coalition for Change | Center-right |
Coalition for Change candidate
| Sebastián Piñera | Both Alliance for Chile parties —RN and UDI— chose Sebastián Piñera as their candidate for president, now under the banner of a larger electoral pact, the Coalition for Change, which also includes the newly formed party ChileFirst and other minor groups. |
Party pre-candidates
| Party | Candidate | Remarks |
| RN | Sebastián Piñera | Piñera participated in Hernán Büchi's 1989 presidential campaign and was later elected to the Senate. He was a potential presidential nominee in 1993, but his chances were ruined by a conflict with Evelyn Matthei that came to be known as Piñeragate. In 1999 he again attempted to be the nominee, but was defeated in the convention by Joaquín Lavín. In 2005 he shook the political scene by jumping into the first round independently of the UDI. Polls show him narrowly beating Frei in a runoff scenario. He was officially proclaimed by RN on August 8, 2009. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009. |
| UDI | Sebastián Piñera | The UDI officially proclaimed Piñera as its candidate on August 22, 2009. Piñera had been proposed as the party's candidate by the UDI's Consejo Directivo in December 2008. Pre-candidates:
|
| CH1 | Sebastián Piñera | ChileFirst decided to support Piñera on March 29, 2009 after its leader, senator Fernando Flores, declined to run for president. It officially proclaimed him on August 15, 2009. Declined candidacies:
|
''Concertación'' candidate
| Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle | The Concertación selected former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle from the Christian Democrat Party as its single candidate for president. The selection process involved a single regional primary on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions between Frei and José Antonio Gómez Urrutia from the Social Democrat Radical Party. Frei won with 65% versus 35% for Gómez. Had the percentage difference between both candidates been less than 20%, the selection process would have continued with additional primaries in other regions until May 17. Frei was legally proclaimed as presidential candidate by the PPD on August 1, 2009 and by the PDC, PS and PRSD on August 22, 2009. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 12, 2009. |
Party pre-candidates
Each Concertación party selected its own pre-candidate for president. Only Frei and Gómez submitted their candidacies before the January 26, 2009 deadline.| Party | Candidate | Remarks |
| PRSD | José Antonio Gómez Urrutia | He was proclaimed by his party on November 13, 2008. He had announced his pre-candidacy two days earlier. |
| PDC | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle | He was proclaimed by his party on December 13, 2008. Other candidates:
|
| PS | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle | The PS selected Frei as its candidate on January 17, 2009. He was the only person to submit a candidacy to the PS presidential convention.Declined candidacies:
|
| PPD | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle | The PPD selected Frei as its candidate on January 24, 2009, with 296 votes from the party's National Council, against seven for PRSD candidate José Antonio Gómez Urrutia.Other candidates:
|
| Independentcandidates | None | Failed candidacies:
|
Primary results
The primary was carried out on April 5, 2009 in the Maule and O'Higgins regions. Frei became the single Concertación candidate by beating Gómez by a 20-point lead, cancelling the need for further regional primaries.Final results.
''Juntos Podemos'' candidate
| Jorge Arrate | The Juntos Podemos Más coalition of far-left parties selected former Socialist Party member Jorge Arrate as its sole candidate for president on April 25, 2009. He was officially proclaimed as candidate on April 26, 2009. In July 2009, after his candidacy lost the support of the Humanist Party, he became a member of the Communist Party in order to comply with the law and run for president. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 9, 2009. |
Party pre-candidates
| Party | Candidate | Remarks |
| PCCh | Guillermo Teillier | Teillier launched his candidacy on September 26, 2008. He said he is willing to step down in order to put forward a single candidate for the Juntos Podemos coalition of left-parties. In November 2008 he said he would be willing to participate in a primary between him, Hirsch and Alejandro Navarro, who had quit the Socialist Party. Teillier stepped down as Juntos Podemos pre-candidate on April 25, 2009, giving his support to Jorge Arrate, saying he was the right person according to the country's political moment. |
| PH | Tomás Hirsch | Hirsch was among the founders of the Humanist Party and vied unsuccessfully for seats in the Chamber of Deputies as part of the Concertación. In 1993, the PH broke off from the coalition. In 1999 he was the Humanist presidential candidate, but lost in the first round. In 2005, he again participated in the presidential campaign, now with the additional support of the communists. He garnered a little over 5% of the vote. In an interview with Biobío Radio on September 1, 2007, Hirsch criticized the Concertación and the Alianza and declared that he would he "happy to be a candidate" if the members of his coalition agree. On June 7, 2008 he announced he intended to run for the presidency for the third time as the PH candidate, under the Juntos Podemos umbrella. |
| Independent | Jorge Arrate | Arrate is a member of the more leftist faction of the PS and had been mentioned as a potential candidate in an alliance of this faction and the Juntos Podemos Más pact. He formally announced his candidacy on January 27, 2008, pressured by a group of socialists opposed to the Socialist Party leadership. On November 20, 2008, Arrate was proclaimed as candidate by a group of Socialist Party Central Committee members. Arrate resigned from the PS on January 14, 2009. He was proclaimed as presidential candidate on January 18, 2009 by a group of Socialist Party members, the so-called "socialistas-allendistas''. |
Primary results
The election to define the sole Juntos Podemos candidate was carried out on April 25, 2009 in Santiago. Arrate beat Hirsch and became the single Juntos Podemos candidate.Final results.
Independent candidate
| Marco Enríquez-Ominami | On December 15, 2008, he announced he was available to compete with Insulza in a Socialist Party primary. He, however, did not submit his candidacy to the PS presidential convention. On January 9, 2009, he agreed to compete in the Concertación primaries as independent after gaining the support of some council people and legislators. He did not submit his candidacy, however. Instead he is running as an independent and as of August, 2009, polling above 20% and thus threatening to displace one of the coalition-backed candidates in the expected run-off election. He was proclaimed candidate by the Humanist and Ecologist parties plus several other leftist groups under the banner of a new electoral pact, a New Majority for Chile, on September 13, 2009. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 10, 2009. |
Unsuccessful candidacies
- Eduardo Artés : He was proclaimed as a Juntos Podemos Más pre-candidate by the Communist Party on December 7, 2007. However, on July 26, 2008, the PC left the Juntos Podemos Más pact, accusing them of abandoning their founding principles in light of the pact's electoral deal with the Concertación for the upcoming October municipal elections. He quit his candidacy in July 2009. He said his candidacy was just an opportunity to present new ideas to the country, as going through with the candidacy would be too economically onerous.
- Leonardo Farkas : A mining businessman. On December 5, 2008, he announced he was giving up his presidential candidacy.
- Pamela Jiles : Journalist and television presenter. She announced her candidacy in February 2009 through a column in The Clinic magazine. On September 4, 2009 she stepped out of the race in support of Navarro. In the same election, she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the lower chamber of Congress.
- Luis Molina Vega A civil engineer from Tomé. Molina stepped out of the race in July 2009, due to low support.
- Alejandro Navarro : Navarro used to characterize himself as a leader in the "dissident" faction of the Socialist Party, which harshly criticized what they called the "neoliberal" economic model, supporting instead Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. Despite his involvement in a scandal due to his participation in a protest organized by the Unitary Workers Central where he attacked a policeman, with the possibility of being expelled from the Senate being considered, Navarro declared himself to be a presidential candidate in 2008. In November 2008, he quit the Socialist Party to form a new party called Broad Social Movement. He said his candidacy was necessary to "stop Piñera from winning in the first round", and still considered himself a Socialist. The MAS party proclaimed him its candidate on November 11, 2008; the party, however, was still open to stage a primary between all leftist candidates that were not part of the Concertación. Navarro has proposed to hold the primary in April 2009. On May 5, 2009 Navarro said he would step out of the race and support Arrate if polls released from then to September show the Juntos Podemos Más candidate having an advantage of seven points over him. He didn't rule out Arrate then supporting Enríquez-Ominami, if his candidacy was the strongest. Navarro was proclaimed as the official MAS candidate on July 25, 2009 with the support of other minor left groups. He submitted his candidacy to the Electoral Service on September 14, 2009. On September 22, 2009 Navarro withdrew his candidacy and gave his support to Enríquez-Ominami.
- Adolfo Zaldívar : The former president of the Christian Democratic Party and a Senator at the time of his nomination, lost the last internal PDC primary to Alvear. He is the brother of senator and former Interior Minister Andrés Zaldívar. He was expelled from the PDC in December 2007, later becoming part of the Regionalist Party of the Independents. He announced his intention to run as president representing that party, and was proclaimed so on April 26, 2009. This decision was ratified on August 29, 2009. He stepped out of the race on September 14, 2009, just hours before the deadline for submission.
Opinion polls
First-round scenarios
| Publisher | Field date | Date published | Arrate | MEO | Frei | Piñera | Other | DK/NR | Comments |
| CEP | November 19-December 11, 2008 | December 30, 2008 | — | — | 31 | 41 | 7 | 21 | |
| La Segunda | December 18, 2008 | December 19, 2008 | — | — | 36 | 46 | 6 | 12 | |
| La Segunda | April 6, 2009 | April 7, 2009 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 43 | 7 | 12 | |
| La Tercera | April 6–7, 2009 | April 12, 2009 | — | 3 | 33 | 42 | 7 | 15 | |
| Imaginacción | April 4–26, 2009 | May 11, 2009 | — | 10.5 | 32.4 | 38.3 | 7.6 | 11.2 | |
| TNS Time | April 1–30, 2009 | May 5, 2009 | — | 14 | 29 | 36 | 7 | 14 | |
| La Tercera | April 21–23, 2009 | April 26, 2009 | — | 10 | 28 | 35 | 7 | 20 | |
| Ipsos | April N/A, 2009 | 0.3 | 5.1 | 25.4 | 43.3 | 0 | 25.9 | ||
| La Segunda | May 14, 2009 | May 15, 2009 | 1 | 14 | 27 | 42 | 4 | 12 | |
| Imaginacción | May 2–30, 2009 | June 11, 2009 | 0.5 | 20.9 | 29.9 | 34.9 | 5.6 | 8.2 | |
| TNS Time | May 4–30, 2009 | June 2, 2009 | 1 | 24 | 25 | 33 | 3 | 14 | |
| CEP | May 14-June 3, 2009 | June 18, 2009 | 1 | 14 | 30 | 34 | 3 | 19 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | May 14-June 3, 2009 | June 18, 2009 | 1 | 13 | 30 | 37 | 3 | 16 | Ballot box vote. |
| Ipsos | May 18-June 1, 2009 | June 9, 2009 | 1.4 | 20.6 | 24.9 | 34.4 | 2.5 | 16.2 | |
| Imaginacción | June 1–30, 2009 | July 14, 2009 | 2.3 | 21.5 | 28.2 | 35.9 | 2.7 | 9.4 | |
| Mori | June 27-July 9, 2009 | July 23, 2009 | 1 | 13 | 21 | 43 | 3 | 19 | |
| La Segunda | July 8, 2009 | July 10, 2009 | 2 | 15 | 27 | 38 | 3 | 15 | |
| Imaginacción | July 1–31, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 3.5 | 21.9 | 26.7 | 36.7 | 1.7 | 9.5 | |
| La Tercera | July 20–22, 2009 | July 26, 2009 | 2 | 21 | 25 | 30 | 2 | 20 | |
| CERC | July 17-August 3, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 1 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 1 | 20 | |
| Ipsos | July 24-August 6, 2009 | August 19, 2009 | 1.5 | 20.6 | 22.9 | 35.6 | 2.1 | 17.3 | |
| Direct Media | August 5–6, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 1.63 | 15.48 | 21.28 | 34.43 | 1.32 | 25.86 | |
| La Segunda | August 12, 2009 | August 14, 2009 | 1 | 20 | 24 | 39 | 1 | 15 | |
| Imaginacción | August 1–29, 2009 | September 14, 2009 | 2.3 | 20.5 | 28.2 | 37.8 | 2.4 | 10.3 | |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 1 | 16 | 30 | 35 | 2 | 16 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 1 | 17 | 28 | 37 | 2 | 15 | Ballot box vote. |
| Imaginacción | September 1–30, 2009 | October 14, 2009 | 4.5 | 20.4 | 25.7 | 38.4 | 1.7 | 9.3 | |
| La Segunda | September 24, 2009 | September 25, 2009 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 39 | 0 | 15 | |
| Ipsos | September 16-October 6, 2009 | October 21, 2009 | 3.7 | 17.8 | 27.2 | 36.7 | 0.3 | 14.3 | |
| UDP | September 21-October 13, 2009 | October 28, 2009 | 4.1 | 17.3 | 23.7 | 30.3 | 0.6 | 24.0 | |
| La Tercera | October 5–8, 2009 | October 10, 2009 | 6 | 24 | 20 | 39 | 0 | 11 | |
| CERC | October 2–13, 2009 | October 20, 2009 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 41 | 0 | 16 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | October 10–12, 2009 | October 18, 2009 | 4.9 | 21.5 | 22.8 | 38.0 | 0 | 12.7 | |
| Giro País-Subjetiva | October 9–20, 2009 | October 31, 2009 | 4.7 | 19.3 | 28.6 | 36.9 | 0 | 10.5 | |
| Imaginacción | October 1–31, 2009 | November 16, 2009 | 6.4 | 22.3 | 27.0 | 37.8 | 0 | 6.5 | |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 4 | 17 | 26 | 35 | 0 | 18 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 5 | 19 | 26 | 36 | 0 | 14 | Ballot box vote. |
| El Mercurio-Opina | November 3–4, 2009 | November 7, 2009 | 6.1 | 20.4 | 21.5 | 38.0 | 0 | 14.0 | Ballot box vote. |
| La Segunda | November 18, 2009 | November 20, 2009 | 7 | 20 | 24 | 38 | 0 | 11 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | December 5–6, 2009 | December 9, 2009 | 6.8 | 19.5 | 22.6 | 38.2 | 0 | 12.9 | Ballot box vote. |
DK/NR: Don't know / No response.
Runoff scenarios
Frei vs. Piñera
| Publisher | Field date | Date published | Frei | Piñera | DK/NR | Comments |
| CEP | November 19-December 11, 2008 | December 30, 2008 | 34 | 44 | 22 | |
| Imaginacción | December 6–28, 2008 | January 8, 2009 | 42.5 | 44.8 | 12.7 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | December 18, 2008 | December 19, 2008 | 38 | 46 | 16 | |
| TNS Time | January N/A, 2009 | January 31, 2009 | 40 | 45 | 15 | |
| Imaginacción | January 3–31, 2009 | February 6, 2009 | 42.3 | 45.6 | 12.1 | |
| TNS Time | February 2–26, 2009 | March 10, 2009 | 38 | 43 | 19 | |
| Imaginacción | February 7–28, 2009 | March 4, 2009 | 43.4 | 46.8 | 9.8 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | March 5, 2009 | March 6, 2009 | 37 | 46 | 17 | |
| TNS Time | March 2–30, 2009 | March 31, 2009 | 41 | 39 | 20 | |
| Imaginacción | March 2–31, 2009 | April 8, 2009 | 44.3 | 44.7 | 11.0 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | April 6, 2009 | April 7, 2009 | 39 | 45 | 16 | |
| La Tercera | April 6–7, 2009 | April 12, 2009 | 40 | 46 | 14 | |
| Imaginacción | April 4–26, 2009 | May 11, 2009 | 43.2 | 43.8 | 13.0 | |
| TNS Time | April 1–30, 2009 | May 5, 2009 | 41 | 43 | 16 | |
| CERC | April 13–27, 2009 | May 14, 2009 | 33 | 47 | 20 | |
| La Tercera | April 21–23, 2009 | April 26, 2009 | 39 | 43 | 18 | |
| Giro País-Subjetiva | April 30-May 10, 2009 | May 16, 2009 | 40.8 | 37.9 | 21.3 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | May 14, 2009 | May 15, 2009 | 34 | 44 | 22 | |
| Imaginacción | May 2–30, 2009 | June 11, 2009 | 43.1 | 44.2 | 12.7 | |
| TNS Time | May 4–30, 2009 | June 2, 2009 | 38 | 43 | 19 | |
| CEP | May 14-June 3, 2009 | June 18, 2009 | 39 | 39 | 22 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | May 14-June 3, 2009 | June 18, 2009 | 39 | 41 | 20 | Ballot box vote. |
| Ipsos | May 18-June 1, 2009 | June 9, 2009 | 39.6 | 42.3 | 18.1 | |
| Imaginacción | June 1–30, 2009 | July 14, 2009 | 41.9 | 43.3 | 14.8 | |
| MORI | June 27-July 9, 2009 | July 23, 2009 | 30 | 46 | 24 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | July 8, 2009 | July 10, 2009 | 39 | 43 | 18 | |
| Imaginacción | July 1–31, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 42.8 | 44.5 | 12.7 | |
| CERC | July 17-August 3, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 36 | 44 | 20 | |
| Ipsos | July 24-August 6, 2009 | August 19, 2009 | 38.1 | 45.5 | 16.4 | |
| Direct Media | August 5–6, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 30.97 | 40.89 | 28.14 | |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 39 | 39 | 22 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 39 | 42 | 19 | Ballot box vote. |
| La Segunda-UDD | August 12, 2009 | August 14, 2009 | 36 | 45 | 19 | |
| Imaginacción | August 1–29, 2009 | September 14, 2009 | 42.6 | 44.6 | 12.8 | |
| Imaginacción | September 1–30, 2009 | October 14, 2009 | 42.2 | 45.2 | 12.6 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | September 24, 2009 | September 25, 2009 | 38 | 47 | 15 | |
| Ipsos | September 16-October 6, 2009 | October 21, 2009 | 39.6 | 44.5 | 15.9 | |
| UDP | September 21-October 13, 2009 | October 28, 2009 | 36.3 | 35.5 | 28.2 | |
| La Tercera | October 5–8, 2009 | October 10, 2009 | 39 | 48 | 13 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | October 10–12, 2009 | October 18, 2009 | 38.1 | 42.5 | 19.4 | Ballot box vote. |
| Giro País-Subjetiva | October 9–20, 2009 | October 31, 2009 | 42.0 | 42.2 | 15.8 | |
| Imaginacción | October 1–31, 2009 | November 16, 2009 | 42.1 | 45.8 | 12.1 | |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 36 | 40 | 24 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 37 | 43 | 20 | Ballot box vote. |
| El Mercurio-Opina | November 3–4, 2009 | November 7, 2009 | 36.8 | 42.7 | 20.5 | Ballot box vote. |
| La Segunda-UDD | November 18, 2009 | November 20, 2009 | 37 | 47 | 16 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | December 5–6, 2009 | December 9, 2009 | 34.4 | 42.5 | 23.1 | Ballot box vote. |
| El Mercurio-Opina | December 15–17, 2009 | December 19, 2009 | 39.7 | 46.2 | 14.1 | Ballot box vote. |
| La Segunda-UDD | December 17, 2009 | December 18, 2009 | 43 | 48 | 9 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | January 5–7, 2010 | January 9, 2010 | 41.0 | 46.1 | 12.9 | Ballot box vote. |
DK/NR: Don't know / No response.
Enríquez-Ominami vs. Piñera
| Publisher | Field date | Date published | MEO | Piñera | DK/NR | Comments |
| La Segunda-UDD | May 14, 2009 | May 15, 2009 | 37 | 45 | 18 | |
| MORI | June 27-July 9, 2009 | July 23, 2009 | 23 | 47 | 30 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | July 8, 2009 | July 10, 2009 | 36 | 45 | 19 | |
| La Tercera | July 20–22, 2009 | July 26, 2009 | 22 | 49 | 29 | |
| CERC | July 17-August 3, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 29 | 44 | 27 | |
| Ipsos | July 24-August 6, 2009 | August 19, 2009 | 40.3 | 43.6 | 16.1 | |
| Direct Media | August 5–6, 2009 | August 12, 2009 | 31.29 | 38.88 | 29.83 | |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 33 | 40 | 27 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | July 30-August 20, 2009 | September 3, 2009 | 34 | 44 | 22 | Ballot box vote. |
| La Segunda-UDD | August 12, 2009 | August 14, 2009 | 37 | 45 | 18 | |
| Imaginacción | September 1–30, 2009 | October 14, 2009 | 39.3 | 45.9 | 14.8 | |
| La Segunda-UDD | September 24, 2009 | September 25, 2009 | 40 | 47 | 13 | |
| Ipsos | September 16-October 6, 2009 | October 21, 2009 | 42.3 | 42.8 | 14.9 | |
| UDP | September 21-October 13, 2009 | October 28, 2009 | 36.4 | 34.0 | 29.6 | |
| La Tercera | October 5–8, 2009 | October 10, 2009 | 43 | 44 | 13 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | October 10–12, 2009 | October 18, 2009 | 40.3 | 42.9 | 16.8 | Ballot-box vote. |
| Giro País-Subjetiva | October 9–20, 2009 | October 31, 2009 | 41.1 | 40.2 | 18.7 | |
| Imaginacción | October 1–31, 2009 | November 16, 2009 | 42.7 | 43.4 | 13.9 | |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 35 | 37 | 28 | Response to a questionnaire. |
| CEP | October 8–30, 2009 | November 11, 2009 | 37 | 40 | 23 | Ballot box vote. |
| El Mercurio-Opina | November 3–4, 2009 | November 7, 2009 | 37.7 | 41.9 | 20.4 | Ballot-box vote. |
| La Segunda-UDD | November 18, 2009 | November 20, 2009 | 40 | 44 | 16 | |
| El Mercurio-Opina | December 5–6, 2009 | December 9, 2009 | 34.8 | 40.7 | 24.5 | Ballot-box vote. |
DK/NR: Don't know / No response.
Arrate vs. Piñera
| Publisher | Field date | Date published | Arrate | Piñera | DK/NR | Comments |
| La Tercera | October 5–8, 2009 | October 10, 2009 | 33 | 51 | 16 |
DK/NR: Don't know / No response.
Enríquez-Ominami vs. Frei
| Publisher | Field date | Date published | MEO | Frei | DK/NR | Comments |
| UDP | September 21-October 13, 2009 | October 28, 2009 | 32.3 | 31.9 | 35.8 |
DK/NR: Don't know / No response.
Debates
The first debate was organized by TVN and took place in Studio #9 at the station's main headquarters in Santiago. It was broadcast live on September 23, 2009 at 10:40 p.m and included all four candidates. A poll published by Ipsos the following day, showed that Enríquez-Ominami, Arrate and Piñera were each considered to have had the best performance over the rest, with 29-30% of support, while Frei's showing only had the support of 9%. Frei was seen by 45% as the worst performer, followed by Piñera, Arrate and Enríquez-Ominami. Another poll by La Segunda found 23% thought Piñera had won the debate, followed by Arrate, Enríquez-Ominami and Frei. 31% thought none had won the debate.The second debate was organized by Archi and Mayor University. It took place at 8:30 AM on October 9, 2009. It was a radio-only debate, though some local 24-hour news channels broadcast live some parts of it. A poll carried out by Mayor University showed Piñera had won the debate by 41%, followed by Enríquez-Ominami, Arrate and Frei Ruiz-Tagle.
There was an online debate on November 4, organized by Terra and Radio Cooperativa. Only Arrate was present after the other three candidates declined to attend. Frei and Piñera had confirmed their presence in May, while Enríquez-Ominami backed down on the same day of the debate.
A debate to discuss regional issues took place on November 6 at 9 AM in Talca's casino. It was organized by the National Press Association and was attended by all four candidates.
A fifth debate took place on November 9 at Canal 13's studios in Santiago, which was broadcast live at 10 PM. All four candidates were present. This debate was notable because the candidates were able to ask questions to one another and freely talk to each other.
The last debate was organized by the National Television Association and broadcast live on November 16 at 10 PM by all terrestrial television stations. All candidates attended. There was no audience present.
First round results
Official and final results.Note: There are 34,348 ballot boxes in the country in 34,325 polling places
Runoff election
Campaign
On December 20, 2009, the Juntos Podemos Más coalition gave his support to Eduardo Frei's candidacy, after the former president agreed to include a number of policies into his government program. Two days later, Jorge Arrate also gave his full support to Frei. On January 13, 2010 Enríquez-Ominami held a press conference to state he would vote for Frei, although he did not say his name. He had previously said that voting for Piñera would be a regression and voting for Frei would not be an advancement.Debates
There was a single debate between the two candidates. It was organized by Anatel and broadcast at 10 PM by all terrestrial television stations on January 11, 2010.Results
Official and final results.Note: There are 34,348 ballot boxes in the country in 34,325 polling places
Timeline
- September 13, 2009: Deadline to enroll to vote in the upcoming elections.
- September 14, 2009: Deadline to register candidacies at the Electoral Service.
- September 14, 2009: Electoral campaign begins.
- October 5, 2009: Draw supervised by Servel to assign a ballot number to each candidate.
- November 13, 2009: Electoral advertisement period starts.
- December 10, 2009: Electoral advertisement period ends.
- December 13, 2009: Election day. Electoral campaigning ends.
- December 13, 2009: First preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Minister at 6:30 p.m. local time, including 4,342 out of 34,348 ballot boxes.
- December 13, 2009: Second preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Minister at 8:03 p.m. local time, including 20,595 ballot boxes.
- December 13, 2009: Third preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Minister at 10:56 p.m. local time, including 33,756 ballot boxes.
- December 14, 2009: Fourth and final preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Minister at 11:05 a.m. local time, including 34,133 ballot boxes.
- December 21, 2009: The Electoral Service publishes preliminary results based on the examination of election certificates by the Tellers' Colleges meeting on December 14, 2009, including 34,263 out of 34,348 ballot boxes.
- December 29, 2009: The Tricel publishes the final results of the first round election on the Official Gazette.
- January 3, 2009: Electoral advertisement period for runoff election starts.
- January 7, 2009: Ballot number is assigned to each candidate according to their position in the first draw.
- January 14, 2009: Electoral advertisement period ends.
- January 17, 2010: Date of presidential run-off. Electoral campaigning ends.
- January 17, 2010: First preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Ministry at 6:00 p.m. local time, including results from 20,711 out of 34,348 ballot boxes.
- January 17, 2010: Eduardo Frei concedes the election to Sebastián Piñera at 6:44 p.m. local time.
- January 17, 2010: Second preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Ministry at 7:40 p.m. local time, including results from 34,056 ballot boxes.
- January 18, 2010: Third and final preliminary results are announced by the Deputy Interior Ministry at 11:00 a.m. local time, including results from 34,252 ballot boxes.
- January 29, 2010: The Election Qualifying Court officially proclaims PIñera as President-elect.
- January 30, 2010: The Tricel publishes the Act of Proclamation on the Official Gazette.
- February 3, 2010: The Tricel publishes the final results of the runoff election on its website.