BUENOS AIRES, December 20. /TASS/. Chile held its second round of presidential elections on Sunday. Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old ex-student protest leader, has become the South American nation’s new head of state.

According to Chile’s electoral service, after counting almost 100% of the votes, 55.87% of the ballots were cast for Boric who represented the leftist Apruebo Dignidad (or Approve Dignity) coalition. Meanwhile, his rival, the ultraconservative politician Jose Antonio Kast, has garnered 44.19% of the vote.

The inauguration will take place on March 11, 2022 with Boric becoming the youngest president in the country’s history.

The election was held against the background of a crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a high level of social tension which erupted into protests and disturbances in October 2019 with their consequences felt to this day.