Chile ex-leader Allende's granddaughter wins her first race for public office

The election featured millions of citizens voting for the first time after Chile greatly expanded its electorate, although absenteeism was also high.

Fernandez, 41, defeated incumbent Mayor Pedro Sabat of the center-right National Renovation party in Nunoa, a district of the capital. A socialist and veterinarian by trade, she served on the local council in the district after growing up in Cuba, where her mother Beatriz lived in exile after President Allende died during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's 1973 coup.

The left's biggest victory was in central Santiago, where Carolina Toha defeated Pablo Zalaquett of the ultra-conservative Independent Democratic Union. Toha served as former President Michelle Bachelet's spokeswoman, and her father, Allende's vice president, died after being jailed and tortured.

Toha had sided with the students protesting for free, quality education in Chile, while Zalaquett ordered police to crack down on their demonstrations.

“I will be a mayor for all,” Toha said in her victory speech. “Everyone will be listened to; no one will be excluded.”

For many members of Chile's student protest movement, which burst onto the scene last year with a series of massive demonstrations, this was their first chance to vote.

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