Pablo Longueira, who just two weeks ago officially became the presidential nominee of the ruling Alliance for Chile, announced that he is withdrawing from the race due to clinical depression.
 

The announcement was made by Longueira’s son Juan Pablo at press conference in Santiago, according to the British newspaper The Telegraph..

“Our father is not well,” Juan Pablo, flanked by two of his siblings, told reporters. He added that his father’s health “has been deteriorating as a consequence of a clinical picture of depression, medically diagnosed. We have witnessed the huge and painful effort that he has made to overcome the situation."

The withdrawal from the race of Longueira , 54, sets the stage for a frantic battle among outgoing President Sebastien Pinero’s right-of-center governing coalition to come up with a substitute nominee to run for president in November.

Aspiring candidates have until mid-August to declare their intention to run.