Chileans take part in large numbers and without disturbances in the plebiscite on the Magna Carta to replace the plebiscite proclaimed during the Pinochet dictatorship
The plebiscite to approve or reject the draft of Chile’s new constitution was characterized by the presence, especially in the early hours, of long queues both in the open polling stations throughout the territory of the southern country and in the police stations. More than fifteen million Chileans are obliged to give their opinion from eight o’clock in the morning to six o’clock in the afternoon – six hours less than in Spain. Only those who were more than 200 miles from their habitual residence that day were excused.
Anyone who did not exercise his or her obligation to vote risked a fine. For this reason, many citizens demanded that the officers provide them with certificates justifying their inability to vote due to health problems, being away from home, or serious impediments. There they became part of a list that will eventually end up in the hands of the courts, for which the appropriate evidence is required.
The politicians were the earliest to get up to express their views. The president, Gabriel Boric, assured his electoral college today that he plans to call for broad national unity across all sectors to continue this constituent process, regardless of the outcome of the polls. “It will go ahead because both those who reject the proposal and those who support it have pledged to reform the text or start a new debate,” he said.
When voting in his hometown of southern Punta Arenas, he added that he could “guarantee the will and action of civil society, civil society and political parties to listen to all voices to move forward.” “Either to implement the text of the new constitution, for which we have already called on several constitutionalists and various civil society personalities, or to give continuity to the constituent process in case the other option wins,” he said.
In recent days, the president has had a series of meetings with pro-government leaders preparing the stage that begins this Monday when, according to reports, Boric will convene an advisory council to facilitate the implementation of the new Magna Carta, if also approved, if the promotion of a new constitutional convention to impose the hypothetical rejection.
In any case, votes from the ruling party kept hoping until the last minute that Chileans would support the text. The important consent of young people to the polls made it possible to take a chance. It also fostered the illusion that the process had been peaceful and orderly across the country, with the exception of some acts of violence in the southern macro zone of Mapuche origin.
Although the polls offered months of opportunity to be rejected as the winner – and with it the continuity of the constitution instituted in 1980 under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) – in recent hours polls have circulated on social networks showing a binding technique. between both positions.
When he went to the polls, former President Sebastián Piñera, although he never explained his vote, pointed out that there was “a commitment to a new and good constitution”. “I am convinced that Chilean citizens will wisely choose the best path for the country, because let’s say things as they are, we have had too much time of division, confrontation, violence, uncertainty, and what Chile needs is more peace. , more unity, because only in this way will we be able to build everyone’s home,” he said.
Former president and current director of the United Nations Office of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, voted from Geneva, where she invited a “dialogue” once the results were known. “Let’s sit down and talk. Chile deserves to have peace to move forward.
Source: La Verdad
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