Less than two weeks remain before the much anticipated runoff election occurs in Chile on December 15. The final round in the run for La Moneda will pit two childhood friends, former president Michelle Bachelet (Nueva Majoria) and Evelyn Matthei (Alianza), against each other to become the next president of Chile.

Bachelet, who narrowly missed the 50 percent cutoff to win the election during the first round, is expected to win the election later this month. However, Matthei is hoping to appeal to voters who voted for the other candidates during the first round.

According to The Santiago Times, the conservative candidate has added 30 new policies to appeal to more voters. Matthei will need every vote she can get to close the 22-point gap between her and Bachelet. Some of the topics covered by her campaign’s new policies are education subsidies, restructuring housing subsidies and financial assistance to those earning less than 2,800 USD.

Matthei’s new campaign manager Felipe Morande spoke to the press late last week to explain the new policies being added to her campaign. “We wanted to collect ideas from the candidates in the first round,” Morande said. “What we are presenting is a complement to the program that was developed for the first round---it does not replace, it adds.”

The former Minister of Labor and Social Security under President Sebastian Pinera also launched a video series on Saturday to showcase her campaign. In the series’ first installment, a five-minute video called “Franja segunda vuelta Evelyn Matthei, Presidenta- #SiSePuede” (Campaign second round- Evelyn Matthei, President #YesWeCan), Matthei is seen discussing the issues she’ll be tackling if elected.

A group of advisors is seen telling Matthei she should focus on senior citizens and women, as well as advising her that the center right will be elected if they are more open and socially conscious.

Not to be left behind, Bachelet also released a video to promote her campaign. The five-minute video, called “Franja Michelle Bachelet Segunda Vuelta: Capitulo 1” (Michelle Bachelet Campaign Second Round: Episode 1), shows the former head of UN Women at campaign events talking to her would-be voters. Bachelet promises to bring in newer and younger people to work for her who will bring “fresh ideas.” The front-runner also promises to tackle crime and health.

The former president’s new campaign spot also places a renewed effort in driving up voter numbers. Results from the first round showed that only 48.8 percent of registered voters actually cast their votes on Nov. 17. However, according to The Washington Post, second round voter turnouts are traditionally much lower than first round turnouts.

Apart from bringing in voters, Bachelet and Matthei will have to work hard to grab voters from the losing candidates of the first round. The Washington Post contends that Bachelet has the upper hand since votes from the five left-wing candidates amount to 17 percent, while the votes from center-right wing candidates only amounts to 11 percent.

It will be interesting to see how voters from the losing candidates decide to cast their votes in the upcoming second round. One thing is clear, the round ahead will not be easy for Evelyn Matthei.

The runoff election for the Chilean presidency will be held on Dec. 15.

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