By Alexander Villegas and Sarah Morland
SANTIAGO, March 24 (Reuters) - Chile on Tuesday said it was withdrawing its backing for the candidacy of former President Michelle Bachelet as Secretary-General of the United Nations, ahead of an election that will decide its leader for a five-year term starting in 2027.
The withdrawal of Chile's support comes weeks after the swearing in of President Jose Antonio Kast, marking the South American country's sharpest shift to the right in decades.
Kast has repeatedly criticized Bachelet's presidency and said his leftist predecessor Gabriel Boric "made a mistake" when he supported her nomination, alongside Brazil and Mexico, for the leadership of the U.N.
Bachelet is among the main candidates for the race to replace current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The U.N. Security Council will formally recommend a candidate to the General Assembly for election as the 10th U.N. secretary-general later this year.
Chile's first female head of state and two-time president, she served as U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2018-22 and executive director of U.N. Women from 2010-13.
Representatives from the Horizonte Ciudadano think tank Bachelet founded did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
"We have reached the conclusion that given the election, the various candidates of countries in Latin America and the differences with some of the actors who define this process, this candidature and its eventual success is inviable," Chile's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that it would abstain from supporting any candidate in the election process.
The election process will take place in stages, including public hearings with candidates and a secret straw Security Council vote, throughout this year.
Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - must agree on a candidate.
Other top candidates include Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Argentina's official nominee.
Costa Rica has nominated former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, the Maldives has nominated Guterres' former special representative for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba, and Burundi backed Macky Sall, the former president of Senegal.
(Reporting by Alexander Villegas and Sarah Morland; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Iñigo Alexander, Lucinda Elliott and Andrea Ricci )
