SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters):
CHILE'S COMMUNIST Party pledged yesterday to back presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet in a tight run-off in January against a rightist alliance.
Communist supporters account for close to five per cent of the vote in Chile and their support could ensure a win by socialist Bachelet and her centre-left coalition.
The Communist Party's central committee said on Tuesday it had "resolved to call for a vote for Bachelet," although it also recognised the vote of each member as a personal choice.
NARROW MISS
Bachelet narrowly missed becoming Chile's first woman president in December elections when she failed to win more than 50 per cent of the vote over three other candidates.
In a run-off race on January 15 she will go up against a rightist alliance led by conservative Sebastian Pinera, who had 37.5 per cent support in a recent poll. The same poll showed Bachelet with 42.8 per cent of support. The poll also showed nearly 20 per cent of voters still undecided. The poll's margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.
