Socialist candidate for the Concertaci n de Partidos por la Democracia Ricardo Lagos narrowly defeated rightist Joaqu n Lav n in yesterday's run-off election in Chile. Of the country's 13 regions, Lagos won in eight, including the metropolitan area of Santiago, while Lav n won in five. The narrow, three percent margin, representing 188,559 votes, was nonetheless far wider than the some 30,000 votes that separated the candidates on the first ballot.
Voting is obligatory in Chile.
The three percent difference corresponds closely to the votes obtained by Gladys Mar n's far left coalition in the first round, suggesting that her supporters transferred their votes to the Concertaci n, without further defections of Christian Democrats from the Concertaci n over to the right. El Mercurio , Monday, January 17, 2000. Results Ricardo Lagos, Socialist candidate of the Concertaci n de Partidos por la Democracia , and Joaqu n Lav n, of the rightist Alliance for Chile, finished in a dead heat in the Sunday, December 12, presidential elections. However, the left-center Concertaci n has won presidential elections since Chile's democratization without recourse to a second round. El Mercurio , December 13, 1999.