# 1989 Chilean general election

General elections were held in Chile on 14 December 1989, bringing an end to the military regime that had been in place since 1973. Patricio Aylwin of Concertación alliance was elected President, whilst the alliance also won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the elected Senate seats.
From the 1989 elections onwards the military had officially left the political future of the country to civilians to be elected. Pinochet did not endorse any candidate publicly. Former dictatorship minister Hernán Büchi ran for president as candidate of the two right-wing parties, RN and UDI. He had little political experience and was a relatively young (40 years) technocrat credited for Chile's good economic performance in the later half of the 1980s. The right parties faced several problems in the elections: there was considerable infighting between RN and UDI, Büchi had only very reluctantly accepted to run for president and right-wing politicians struggled to define their position towards the Pinochet regime. In addition to this right-wing populist Francisco Javier Errázuriz Talavera ran independently for president and made several election promises Büchi could not match.
The centre-left coalition Concertación was rather united and confident. Its candidate Patricio Aylwin, a Christian Democrat, behaved as if he had won and refused a second television debate with Büchi. Büchi attacked Aylwin on a remark he had made concerning that inflation rate of 20% was not much and he also accused Aylwin of making secret agreements with the Communist Party of Chile, a party that was not part of Concertación. Aylwin spoke with strength about the need to clarify human rights violations but did not confront the dictatorship for it, in contrast Büchi as a regime collaborator lacked any credibility when dealing with human rights violations.
Büchi and Errázuriz lost to Patricio Aylwin. The electoral system meant that the largely Pinochet-sympathetic right was overrepresented in parliament in such way that it could block any reform to the constitution. This over-representation was crucial for UDI to obtain places in parliament and secure its political future. Pinochet declared himself to be satisfied with the election. The far-left and the far-right performed poorly in the election.

## Results
### President

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Patricio Aylwin | Concertación (PDC) | 3,850,571 | 55.17 |
| | Hernán Büchi | Democracy and Progress (Ind.) | 2,052,116 | 29.40 |
| | Francisco Javier Errázuriz | Independent | 1,077,172 | 15.43 |
| Total | Total | Total | 6,979,859 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 6,979,859 | 97.50 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 178,868 | 2.50 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,158,727 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,557,537 | 94.72 |
| Source: SERVEL |||||

### Senate

Seats :
| | Concertación | | Christian Democratic Party | 2,188,329 | 32.18 | 13 |
| | Concertación | | Party for Democracy | 820,393 | 12.06 | 4 |
| | Concertación | | Radical Party of Chile | 147,364 | 2.17 | 2 |
| | Concertación | | Humanist Party | 35,534 | 0.52 | 0 |
| | Concertación | | Independents | 523,369 | 7.70 | 3 |
| | Concertación | Total | Total | 3,714,989 | 54.63 | 22 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | National Renewal | 731,678 | 10.76 | 5 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | Independent Democratic Union | 347,445 | 5.11 | 2 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | Independents | 1,290,886 | 18.98 | 9 |
| | Democracy and Progress | Total | Total | 2,370,009 | 34.85 | 16 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Liberal Party | 10,129 | 0.15 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Chilean Socialist Party | 4,254 | 0.06 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Independents | 199,618 | 2.94 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | Total | Total | 214,001 | 3.15 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | Radical Democracy | 28,695 | 0.42 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | National Advance | 697 | 0.01 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | Independents | 62,015 | 0.91 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | Total | Total | 91,407 | 1.34 | 0 |
| | Broad Party of Socialist Left | Broad Party of Socialist Left | Broad Party of Socialist Left | 288,397 | 4.24 | 0 |
| | Party of the South | Party of the South | Party of the South | 45,584 | 0.67 | 0 |
| | National Party | National Party | National Party | 43,741 | 0.64 | 0 |
| | Independents | Independents | Independents | 32,282 | 0.47 | 0 |
| Appointed senators | Appointed senators | Appointed senators | Appointed senators | | | 9 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 6,800,410 | 100.00 | 47 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 6,800,410 | 95.00 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 358,032 | 5.00 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,158,442 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,613 | 94.73 | |
| Source: Nohlen |||||||

#### By region

| Region | Concertación | Democracy and Progress | Party of the South | Alliance of the Centre | Liberal–Socialist | National | Unity for Democracy | Independent |
| I Región | 47.13% | 30.64% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.85% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 18.37% |
| II Región | 41.38% | 34.81% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 23.81% | 0.00% |
| III Región | 61.82% | 33.36% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 2.45% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 2.37% |
| IV Región | 36.85% | 35.82% | 0.00% | 5.63% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 21.70% | 0.00% |
| V Región | 48.77% | 35.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 7.49% | 0.00% | 8.55% | 0.00% |
| VI Región | 59.22% | 27.54% | 0.00% | 11.22% | 2.02% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| VII Región | 59.61% | 34.23% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 6.17% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| VIII Región | 46.90% | 34.76% | 0.00% | 4.01% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 14.33% | 0.00% |
| IX Región | 49.95% | 32.77% | 11.84% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 5.44% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| X Región | 57.04% | 42.96% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| XI Región | 55.99% | 40.78% | 0.00% | 1.91% | 1.31% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| XII Región | 66.23% | 31.11% | 0.00% | 2.66% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Región Metropolitana | 59.90% | 35.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 4.24% | 0.83% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Source: Servel Electoral |||||||||

### Chamber of Deputies

Seats :
| | Concertación | | Christian Democratic Party | 1,766,347 | 25.99 | 38 |
| | Concertación | | Party for Democracy | 778,501 | 11.45 | 16 |
| | Concertación | | Radical Party of Chile | 268,103 | 3.94 | 5 |
| | Concertación | | Humanist Party | 52,225 | 0.77 | 1 |
| | Concertación | | The Greens | 14,942 | 0.22 | 0 |
| | Concertación | | Independents | 619,595 | 9.12 | 9 |
| | Concertación | Total | Total | 3,499,713 | 51.49 | 69 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | National Renewal | 1,242,432 | 18.28 | 29 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | Independent Democratic Union | 667,369 | 9.82 | 11 |
| | Democracy and Progress | | Independents | 413,780 | 6.09 | 8 |
| | Democracy and Progress | Total | Total | 2,323,581 | 34.18 | 48 |
| | Unity for Democracy | | Broad Party of Socialist Left | 297,897 | 4.38 | 2 |
| | Unity for Democracy | | Democratic Socialist Radical Party | 1,330 | 0.02 | 0 |
| | Unity for Democracy | | Independents | 61,374 | 0.90 | 0 |
| | Unity for Democracy | Total | Total | 360,601 | 5.31 | 2 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Liberal Party | 47,237 | 0.69 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Chilean Socialist Party | 10,398 | 0.15 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | | Independents | 148,503 | 2.18 | 0 |
| | Liberal–Socialist | Total | Total | 206,138 | 3.03 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | National Advance | 57,574 | 0.85 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | Radical Democracy | 28,575 | 0.42 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | | Independents | 91,793 | 1.35 | 0 |
| | Alliance of the Centre | Total | Total | 177,942 | 2.62 | 0 |
| | National Party | National Party | National Party | 53,819 | 0.79 | 0 |
| | Party of the South | Party of the South | Party of the South | 47,387 | 0.70 | 0 |
| | Independents | Independents | Independents | 127,941 | 1.88 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 6,797,122 | 100.00 | 120 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 6,797,122 | 94.95 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 361,524 | 5.05 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,158,646 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,613 | 94.73 | |
| Source: SERVEL |||||||

#### By region

| Region | Concertación | Democracy and Progress | Party of the South | Alliance of the Centre | Liberal–Socialist | National | Unity for Democracy | Independent |
| I Región | 47.70% | 37.16% | 0.00% | 1.84% | 4.68% | 0.00% | 7.52% | 1.10% |
| II Región | 59.78% | 30.32% | 0.00% | 1.62% | 4.58% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.70% |
| III Región | 44.50% | 32.02% | 0.00% | 2.09% | 2.76% | 0.00% | 16.88% | 1.76% |
| IV Región | 57.73% | 33.71% | 0.00% | 4.68% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.88% |
| V Región | 49.69% | 35.35% | 0.00% | 3.60% | 4.16% | 0.00% | 6.27% | 0.94% |
| VI Región | 47.34% | 33.10% | 0.00% | 3.21% | 2.50% | 0.00% | 13.15% | 0.71% |
| VII Región | 58.70% | 32.47% | 0.00% | 2.13% | 0.00% | 1.76% | 0.00% | 4.94% |
| VIII Región | 47.08% | 33.61% | 0.00% | 5.51% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 8.83% | 4.97% |
| IX Región | 45.51% | 32.95% | 9.27% | 1.61% | 0.00% | 4.72% | 4.50% | 1.43% |
| X Región | 51.88% | 36.87% | 2.59% | 0.17% | 0.00% | 3.16% | 4.23% | 1.10% |
| XI Región | 45.79% | 39.75% | 0.74% | 1.54% | 0.78% | 1.84% | 9.57% | 0.00% |
| XII Región | 65.03% | 31.58% | 0.00% | 3.39% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Región Metropolitana | 52.70% | 34.53% | 0.00% | 1.69% | 5.36% | 0.49% | 4.40% | 0.84% |
| Source: Servel Electoral |||||||||