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The polling stations for the constituent elections in Chile have been closed and the counting of votes has begun

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Chileans voted to choose the drafters of a new constitution after the failure of a previous constituent process strongly promoted by President Gabriel Boric, who said in the vote that “this time there is no margin for error”.

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Voting to elect the 50 councilors began at 8 am and lasted until 6 pm (7 pm in Argentina), and Chileans lined up at 38,663 tables in 2,932 locations across the country, guarded by military and police. There was a large attendance.

Boric voted in a school in his hometown of Punta Arenasin the southern region of Magallanes, and, as is his custom on election days, he came to his table from his parents’ house and accompanied by relatives.

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“We must create a Constitution that unites us, means progress and which identifies the majority of Chileans to update our basic standards,” the leftist president told reporters as he left the polling station.

A man comes out of the dark room of a polling station in Santiago.  photo by AFP

A man comes out of the dark room of a polling station in Santiago. photo by AFP

The epidemic

“As a country we have a historic opportunity to reconcile after the fractures we have experienced and move towards a developed and inclusive country. This time there is no margin for error,” he added.

More than 15 million Chileans are allowed to vote in this second constituent process in the country since the return to democracy, in 1990, after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, during which the current Magna Carta was written.

The drafting of a new constitution to replace the one inherited from the dictatorship was one of the central demands of the 2019 social epidemicwhen millions of people took to the streets of Santiago and other cities in Chile to demand social justice.

The then conservative government of President Sebastián Piñera had to give in to the request: in 2020 it was approved to draft a new Constitution and in 2021 Chileans elected the members of the Constituent Convention instructed to do so.

The drafting of the text culminated in June 2022, about three months after Boric took office.

But the Constitution was rejected in a referendum in September 2022, when 61% of voters spoke out against it, in a strong setback for Boric, who had defended the text as his own.

Piñera voted in the wealthy capital municipality (neighborhood) of Las Condes, stating that “Chile does not need, nor does it deserve, nor does it resist a new failure in constitutional matters».

“I hope that today the will of the Chileans is fully manifested, this is democracy,” said the former president.

Even the former president went to vote Michael Bacheletwho at the exit told the press that he had seen little information during the campaign, “when I go to the fair people ask me who the candidates are”.

“It is an opportunity to look again at the future, translate it into a new Constitution that unites us all and guarantees the human rights of all,” said the former president.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric after the vote in Punta Arenas.  AP Photo

Chilean President Gabriel Boric after the vote in Punta Arenas. AP Photo

The election took place within the framework of lower interest of citizens than the previous one.

what do you vote for

However, voting was compulsory and a high turnout was expected, making the outcome uncertain.

Since the return to democracy, only those who had registered on the electoral lists have voted, FrBut now registration is automatic and voting is mandatory.

If they don’t show up, people risk fines ranging from 0.5 to 3 UTM (between $38 and $230).

The 50 people elected as constitutional advisers They will draw up the new magna carta based on a preliminary draft that is being drafted by the Committee of Experts, made up of 24 people elected by both legislative chambers.

This election was also marked by the principle of gender equality, so 25 councilors will be women and the other half men, which could take a little longer for the final results, scheduled for 21:00 (22 in Argentina ).

In total there were 353 candidatesone of which is independent and two who will compete for the seats reserved for natives.

The others are part of five electoral lists: Todo por Chile (center and center left), Unity for Chile (most government parties), Chile Seguro (parties of the right-wing coalition Chile Vamos), as well as candidates from the far-right Republican Party, led by the former presidential candidate José Antonio Kast) and the Popular Party (led by former presidential candidate Franco Parisi).

The elected Constitutional Council will begin its functions on June 7 and will have until November 7 to draft the constitutional text, which will be voted on in a binding plebiscite.

Source: Clarin

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