SANTIAGO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chilean presidential hopefuls, as well as legislators and regional councillors, launched their electoral campaigns on Friday for the Nov. 19 general elections.
Radio and television stations will dedicate 20 minutes of air time Friday night to the campaign platforms of each of the eight presidential candidates, in what is known as the "electoral slot."
Since Chile's military dictatorship ended in 1990, the country's center-left party has won four elections, while the right-of-center camp won only one, when the pro-business Sebastian Pinera garnered a majority of the vote in 2010.
This year, Pinera is hoping to win a second term as the candidate of the Chile Vamos (Let's Go Chile) coalition, and polls show the elections are his to lose.
President Michelle Bachelet, who is currently serving her second term, has no plans to run again.
The campaign season runs until Nov. 16.
These elections will see the start of the so-called Quota Law, which aims to promote greater representation of women in government.
According to the law, no more than 60 percent of candidates for the legislature can be men (or women), so that 40 percent represent a different gender.
