Chile's presidential candidate for the center-left Concertacion coalition, Michelle Bachelet casts her vote, in Santiago, Dec. 11, 2005. She is most likely to succeed President Lagos and become Chile's first woman president.

Michelle Bachelet leads in election, but run-off likely

    SANTIAGO, Dec. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Preliminary results in Chile's presidential election on Sunday indicated a likely run-off.

    Socialist Michelle Bachelet was leading with 44.76 percent of the vote based on a count of 12.7 percent of the votes, according to the tally published by the government Electoral Service.

Chile's Presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera of the right-wing opposition party National Renewal shows his ID card before casting his vote in Santiago, Dec. 11, 2005.

    It showed rightist candidate Sebastian Pinera was in second place with 26.70 percent of the vote, followed by Joaquin Lavin, also from the right, with 23.52 percent.

    Bachelet is not expected to win more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast, which means she will likely face her closest contender in a run-off election on Jan. 15.

    So far over 804,000 votes have been counted from 4,190 polling stations across Chile.

    The presidential election of Chile started earlier on Sunday as voters cast their ballots to choose a successor to President Ricardo Lagos.

    Veronica Michelle Bachelet, candidate for the popular ruling center-left Democracy Parties Coalition and leading with a 41-percent support in a recent poll, is most likely to succeed President Lagos and become Chile's first woman president.

    Other candidates include Sebastian Pinera, candidate for the opposition right-wing National Renewal party; Joaquin Lavin Infante, candidate for the Independent Democratic Union; and Thomas Hirsch Goldschmidt, candidate for the Humanist Party and Communist coalition.

    Meanwhile the Chileans voters are also expected to hold a congressional election. Enditem

Backgrounder: Key facts about Chile

    SANTIAGO, Dec. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Chile is set to open presidential and congressional elections on Sunday. The following are the key facts about the South American country in the run-up to its fourth voting since the end of the 1973-90 Augusto Pinochet's military regime.

    MAIN CONTENDERS: Michelle Bachelet of the ruling center-left Democracy parties Coalition is considered the front-runner. Her arch rivals include Tomas Hirsch, who represents the Humanist Party and Communist coalition; businessman Sebastian Pinera, from the opposition right-wing National Renewal party; and Joaquin Lavin Infante, from the conservative Independent Democratic Union.

Chile's presidential candidate of the Independent Democratic Union, Joaquin Lavin, casts his vote in Santiago, Dec. 11, 2005.

    PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Under the country's reformed constitution unveiled in September 2005, the presidential term is reduced from six years to four years. A presidential candidate needs an absolute majority to be declared the winner. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the two leading candidates will contest a runoff election on Jan. 15, 2006. The winner will succeed President Ricardo Lagos on March 11,2006.

    GEOGRAPHY: Chile is the longest and narrowest nation in the world, with a total area of 756, 626 square km. It boasts a 10,300-km Pacific coastline. The country has a vast desert in the north and glaciers and volcanoes in the south, It is bordered by Argentina to the east, and Bolivia and Peru to the north.

    VOTERS: All Chilean citizens over 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Out of the country's 15.9 million population, more than 8 million people, or 53 percent, have registered for voting.

    CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION: The congressional election will involve the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. All of the 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 20 out of the 38 seats in the Senate are up for election. There are more than 400 candidates vying for the seats. Deputies and senators respectively serve for a period of four years and eight years. Reelection is permitted. Enditem