Chile's ex-president Bachelet could secure outright majority in election: survey

SANTIAGO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chile's former president, Michelle Bachelet, could win an outright majority in the first round of presidential election slated for Nov.17, according to a survey released Thursday.

Bachelet would garner 51 percent of the votes, according to the results of the survey, which was carried out by the private Contemporary Reality Study Center.

Bachelet, who was president from 2006 to 2010, had been trailed by ruling-party presidential hopeful Pablo Longueira, the survey showed. But Longueira dropped out of the race due to health reasons on Wednesday.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has proposed Labor Minister Evelyn Matthei to replace Longueira.

"Evelyn would be a great candidate," Pinera told a local television channel, adding that "to be a candidate the most important thing is to have commitment, strength and the desire to win and I think she has that."

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