UPDATE 4-Right-wing candidate Kast takes commanding lead in Chile's presidential election

As the campaigns had wound down, both candidates threw jabs at each other, but also focused on the main topic that has come to define the election: crime. Speaking on Thursday from behind a clear protective barrier in the southern city of Temuco, the capital of a region rattled by conflict between Indigenous Mapuche groups and the incumbent leftist government, Kast described a country in chaos and said he would restore order.

Jose Antonio Kast, the candidate of the far-right Republican Party that he founded, looks set to be the next president of Chile after taking a commanding lead against leftist Jeannette Jara in Chile's presidential election, initial results showed on Sunday.

With 25.37% of votes counted, Kast had secured 59.83%, against Jara's 40.17%. Kast had been ahead in opinion polls ahead of the vote, running on a platform of fighting crime and curbing migration. While Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, a recent surge in organized crime and immigration has rattled the electorate and become the main concern among voters.

A Kast victory is likely to be cheered by investors who are hoping that a market-friendly government will accelerate economic reforms, including deregulation and changes to the copper-rich country's pension system and capital markets. As the campaigns had wound down, both candidates threw jabs at each other, but also focused on the main topic that has come to define the election: crime.

Speaking on Thursday from behind a clear protective barrier in the southern city of Temuco, the capital of a region rattled by conflict between Indigenous Mapuche groups and the incumbent leftist government, Kast described a country in chaos and said he would restore order. "This government caused chaos, this government caused disorder, this government caused insecurity," the 59-year-old lawyer said. "We're going to do the opposite. We're going to create order, security and trust." Dozens of supporters began to arrive at the Kast campaign headquarters in Santiago on Sunday evening, waving Chile flags. Some wore red caps emblazoned "Make Chile Great Again."

Ignacio Segovia, a 23-year-old engineering student, was among them. "I grew up in a peaceful Chile where you could go out in the street, you had no worry, you went out and you never had problems or fear," he said. "Now you can't go out peacefully." During her closing campaign event on Thursday in the northern city of Coquimbo, Jara vowed to be tough on crime, but also touted the need for strong social programs.

"There's a lot at stake and we have to move forward, not back," said the 51-year-old lawyer and former minister of labor.

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