Second round of Chilean election gets underway

SANTIAGO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Debate is dominating the second round of the Chilean presidential election on Sunday, pitting former President Sebastian Pinera and Senator Alejandro Guillier.

Pinera voted at 9:30am at the Republica de Alemania school in central Santiago. However, scuffles broke out at the voting center between his supporters and opponents.

The candidate of the right-wing Chile Vamos coalition, protected by heavy security, rushed out of the school and into a car without speaking to the crowd, before the fighting was contained.

He was then accompanied to the town of Las Condes where his wife, Cecilia Morel, voted. There, he spoke to the press, saying that this "is not the end, but the beginning" of better times for Chile.

"After this election, we could have differences and while that is good, this does not turn us into enemies. We will certainly continue down the path of progress," he said.

"Each time we are divided, losses and pain have followed, but every time we have united, we have seen joy and triumphs. United, we retrieved our democracy, we rebuilt the country after the devastating earthquake of 2010, we found our 33 miners safe and sound. And united, we will succeed to defeat poverty in Chile...and the opportunity of a life with dignity and opportunities," added Pinera.

Alejandro Guillier, the center-left candidate and potential successor to President Michelle Bachelet, had a quiet day. First he had breakfast with a former professor in Antofagasta, a city 1,300km north of Santiago, where he voted.

However, as he left the polling station, some opponents threw eggs at his car without success. Guillier tried to downplay the incident, saying "the Chilean people...in general is very respectful. These are minimal incidents...which shows we are a country that values its democratic institutions," he told the press in Antofagasta.

He expressed his confidence in victory, adding that "we are going to win by a clear margin, tight but clear. We are optimistic."

Guillier also dismissed concerns that the campaign had been polarized by differences between both candidates.

"I did not see any polarization. On Friday, I went shopping and people were very warm...this is the country that we love. Very few countries in the world can have candidates walking down the street and be respected," he concluded.

He then returned to the hotel San Francisco in Santiago to await the results.

As for Bachelet herself, after voting in Santiago, she told the press that the result would have "a close margin."

"I think, in a democracy, one has to respond by being heard through the vote about what type of country or society we want. My only comment is to call on people to go and vote, participate, to join in," she added. Enditem