Chileans began to vote on Saturday in a mega-election in which they will pick mayors, governors, councillors and critically, the 155 men and women who will draft the country’s next constitution.
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and by mid-morning, voters were arriving in a steady stream to mark their preference on four differently-coloured ballot papers.
Citizens have a full weekend to cast their votes as the authorities seek to avoid crowds gathering, exacerbating a second wave of the so-called COVID-19 pandemic.
A central demand to emerge from fierce social protests that erupted over inequality and elitism in October 2019 was Changing the constitution
More than 7.5 million people voted in last year’s plebiscite to tear up the current constitution which was drafted in 1980 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Chile’s centre-right government is hoping for at least seven million people from the 19 million-strong population to participate in this weekend’s election.
President Sebastian Pinera’s Chile Vamos coalition is hoping for the candidates it has fielded to draft the constitution to win at least a third of seats to shield Chile’s free-market model from any drastic changes which would require at least two thirds’ approval.
Meanwhile swathes of Chile remain under strict lockdown with Health Minister Enrique Paris stating that the country’s high vaccination rate meant voting was safe but urged people to head home straight afterwards.
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