Chile Conservative President Candidate Continues To Lead - Poll
SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Chilean conservative presidential candidate Sebastian
Pinera obtained a 37% voter approval rating, according to a survey by local
polling firm Cerc, a strong lead over rival Eduardo Frei of the governing
center-left Concertacion coalition.
According to the door-to-door survey of 1,200 people released Wednesday,
Pinera would get 37% of the vote, Frei 22.3% and independent candidate Marco
Enriquez-Ominami 14.6%.
Of the remainder, 13% are undecided with the rest planning to vote for other
candidates or not to vote at all. The margin of error was 3%.
The poll shows that, four months ahead of the December election, Pinera is
maintaining his lead over Frei and Enriquez-Ominami, receiving comparable
approval ratings in a July survey conducted by another polling firm, Mori.
However, if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the first round,
there would be a run-off election in January. In that case, according to the
poll, Pinera would easily beat either Frei or Enriquez-Ominami, with 41% of the
vote versus both candidates, but still short of the 50% needed to win the
election.
These figures are little changed from Cerc's previous two polls in December
2008 and April 2009, although Pinera's approval rating for the second round
slipped three percentage points from the previous poll.
Much will depend on undecided voters in a possible second round since, in a
potential run-off against Pinera, Frei would garner 5% more of the vote than
Enriquez-Ominami.
While Pinera's support is equally divided among male and female voters, Frei's
support from female voters is weak, while the young, telegenic Enriquez-Ominami
would receive more female votes than male, Cerc reported.
Enriquez-Ominami, who has shaken up the political scene this year, has found
support among educated young people, especially in the regions outside Santiago.
Although Pinera has a comfortable lead heading into the campaign's home
stretch, he has four percentage points less support than President Michelle
Bachelet obtained in a Cerc poll ahead of her 2005 victory.
According to the latest Cerc poll, Bachelet continues to enjoy a relatively
high personal approval rating of 65% among Chileans, but Eduardo Frei, who is
part of the same coalition, has been unable to harness her popularity with the
center-left split between Frei and Enriquez-Ominami.
Frei has plenty of experience having already been president once - between
1994 and 2000 - but he is seen as part of a coalition that has grown too
complacent and out of touch with the people.
Since Chile's return to democracy in March 1990, following 17 years of
military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet, Chile has been governed by
the Concertacion coalition, with the right-wing Alianza coalition, currently led
by Pinera, as its opposition.
If the poll results are accurate, December's election will mark the end of the
Concertacion's 19-year dynasty and the first conservative government since the
dictatorship.
-By Risa Grais-Targow, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-820-4244; Chile@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-12-091320ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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