Chileans began voting for a new president Sunday, making a stark choice between the most right-wing candidate in 35 years of democracy and the head of a leftist coalition.

Polls show far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast as the strong front-runner in the runoff vote against his rival Jeannette Jara, a longstanding member of the Communist Party.

Almost 16 million citizens can cast their ballot in the election, with Kast's tough-on-crime and anti-migrant message seemingly resonating with many Chileans.

"The country is falling apart," 59-year-old Kast has claimed on the campaign trail, often speaking from behind bulletproof glass to underscore his point.

Once one of the safest and most prosperous countries in the Americas, Chile has been hit hard in recent years by the Covid-19 pandemic,

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