The Chilean presidential primaries of 2013 were held in Chile on Sunday 30 June 2013. It was the first such election to be run by the government under a new primary law published in December 2012.
According to the law, primaries are voluntary, but its results are binding. The two main political coalitions decided to participate: Former president Michelle Bachelet won the Nueva Mayoría primary with 73% of the vote, while former senator and minister Pablo Longueira won the Alianza primary with 51%.
Longueira withdrew on 17 July and was replaced by Evelyn Matthei, who had not participated in the primaries. Bachelet defeated Matthei in the runoff election held on 15 December 2013.
Both candidates were officially registered on 1 May 2013.[1] Affiliates from both Alianza parties (RN and UDI) plus independent electors were allowed to vote.
The former Minister of Defense said on 22 April 2012 that he was willing to participate with Laurence Golborne and Pablo Longueira (both also ministers) in a three-way primary.[2] He was proclaimed as candidate by his party on 6 November 2012.[3]
The Minister of Economy was proclaimed as his party's candidate minutes after the resignation of then candidate Laurence Golborne on 29 April 2013. He left his cabinet post a day later.[4]
Declined candidacy
Laurence Golborne (Ind.), held several ministerial posts during Sebastián Piñera's tenure. On 4 November 2012 he said he was willing to become the right's candidate for president.[5] On 17 November 2012 he was proclaimed as the right's pre-candidate by the Independent Democratic Union.[6] On 29 Abril 2013, Golborne declined his candidacy after the Supreme Court fined his former employer Cencosud for illegally raising credit card maintenance fees, which Golborne as chief executive officer of the company had approved. At the same time there were press reports of Golborne having offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands, that he had not properly registered in his property statement.[7]
All four candidates were officially registered on 30 April 2013.[8] Affiliates from all Nueva Mayoría parties plus independent electors were allowed to vote.
The former president from 2006 to 2010 declared her intention to run for the presidency on 27 March 2013 during an act in El Bosque Commune (a poor suburb of Santiago), a few hours after arriving from New York City, where she had been working as head of UN Women before quitting two weeks before.[9] On 7 April 2013 the Broad Social Movement (MAS) proclaimed Bachelet as their candidate.[10] On 13 April 2013 Bachelet was proclaimed by the PS and the PPD,[11] as agreed on in December 2012.[12] On 25 May 2013 both the Communist Party[13] and the Citizen Left movement[14] decided to support Bachelet's candidacy.
Current senator. He says he will compete in a Concertación primary as long as they are held in a transparent way. Otherwise he says he may run directly as president outside of the coalition.[15] On 30 June 2013 he was proclaimed by the PRSD as their pre-candidate for a Concertación primary.[16]
A primary was held on 19 January 2013 to determine the Christian Democratic Party's pre-candidate for the presidency. This primary was organized by the party and not under the new primary law. The contenders were Claudio Orrego and Ximena Rincón. Orrego won the primary with 59% of the vote.[17]
Claudio Orrego, former minister and mayor, had said in January 2012 that he would seek reelection as mayor of Peñalolén in the October 2012 election, but that he did not rule out running for president.[18] However, on 3 March 2012 he launched his candidacy for the presidency.[19]
Ximena Rincón, senator, had expressed her willingness to compete in a Concertación primary during a television interview on 23 December 2011.[20]
Former Finance Minister during President Michelle Bachelet's tenure. He said he was willing to compete in a Concertación primary only if Bachelet decides not to run for reelection.[22] In May 2012 he declared he had changed his mind and that now he would compete regardless of Bachelet's participation.[23] He officially launched his pre-candidacy on 16 November 2012.[24] On 2 May 2013, already registered to compete in primaries, he condemned the Nueva Mayoría pact for failing to register candidates for legislative primary elections and threatened to quit the competition and run directly in the November election.[25] On 6 May 2013 he backpedaled, after party leaders pledged to carry out legislative primary elections wherever there were more than two candidates.[26]
Primary results
Primary ballot for independent electors.Primary ballot for Nueva Mayoría-party affiliates.Primary ballot for Alianza-party affiliates.
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