Millions of Chileans will head to the polls on Sunday to elect the South American country’s next president. The election, which includes former president Michelle Bachelet as its leading candidate, will decide the path on which the economically prosperous country will move on in the coming years. Despite its apparent clear winner, the election has not been devoid of controversy.

Thousands of Chilean expatriates will also head to the polls on Sunday to cast symbolic votes. According to the Santiago Times, approximately 850,000 Chilean citizens live outside of Chilean but are unable to vote due to dictatorship-era voting laws. A group of around 5,000 Chileans living in 50 different countries, however, will be holding mock votes in a protest called “Somos Todos Chilenos,” or “We Are All Chileans.”

Despite Chileans living abroad being denied the right to vote, Santiago Times reported that foreign residents living in Chile will be casting their votes on Sunday. According to the Santiago Times, about 180,000 foreign-born residents are listed on the country’s Electoral Service’s (Servel) voting roll.

Voting issues aside, the election will be one to watch with Bachelet in the race. According to USA Today, 62-year-old Bachelet, who was the nation’s first female president, is expected to win. However, the former president, and head of UN Women, must win at least 50 percent of the votes to avoid a runoff with fellow presidential candidate, and one-time close friend, Evelyn Matthei.

Matthei, who served as Minister of Labor and Social Security under President Sebastian Pinera until July 2013, trails Bachelet by around 20 points, The Guardian reports. Her second place spot in the pre-election, however, could quickly turn into third place if the election’s third candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami surpasses her tomorrow.

The three candidates, with varying political experience, all have a deep connection to the country’s troubled dictatorship past. According to the Guardian, Matthei’s father Gen. Fernando Matthei was close friends with Bachelet’s father Alberto Bachelet. Despite being childhood friends, Gen. Matthei was unable to save Bachelet’s life when he was killed by the regime in March 1974.

Enríquez-Ominami’s connection to the dictatorship is no less bloodied. The politician's father, Miguel Enríquez, was the leader of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolutionaria (Movement of the Revolutionary Left) when he was brutally killed in October 1974 in Santiago.

According to the Guardian, Enríquez-Ominami is steadily catching up to Matthei in the polls and may force Bachelet into a runoff. If that were to happen, the country would be forced to choose between two candidates deeply influenced by the effects of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s 17 year-long dictatorship.

Despite Bachelet’s lead in the polls, she still has a complicated road ahead of her. The former president, who served from 2006 to 2010, will be forced to deal with the education protests that plagued the end of her term. USA Today reported that Bachelet plans to ease tensions over the education system by raising corporate tax rates from 20 percent to 25 percent. She also plans to tackle a tax system that allows wealthy Chileans to avoid 40 percent income tax over $100,000 a year by putting their earnings in investment companies.

But will that be enough to win Bachelet the presidency? A poll by IPSOS released on Nov. 7 shows Bachelet winning 32 percent of likely voters, with Matthei following behind at 20 percent. Independent candidate Francis Parisi came in third with 14 percent, followed closely by Enríquez-Ominami with 11 percent.

Voting for the Chilean presidential election will take place on Sunday, Nov. 19 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voters must be 18 years old and show valid identification to cast their ballots.