• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Chile

Guidelines For Chile's Run-Off Presidential Elections

  • Presidential candidates Jose Kast (L) and Gabriel Boric (R), Santiago de Chile, Chile, December 2021.

    Presidential candidates Jose Kast (L) and Gabriel Boric (R), Santiago de Chile, Chile, December 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @DigitalFmChile

Published 17 December 2021
Opinion

As established by the current Electoral Law, the winning candidate must obtain over 50 percent of the ballots to be proclaimed President.

On Sunday, Social Convergence (CS) candidate Gabriel Boric and Republican Party (PR) candidate Jose Kast will compete for the Presidency of Chile in a run-off election, in which 14 million citizens are expected to go to the polls.

RELATED: 

Kast “Will Only Bring Instability, More Hatred and Violence” to Chile, Says Boric

The winning candidate must obtain over 50 percent of the ballots to be proclaimed President. So far, voter intent polls give an advantage to Boric, who is likely to win 54 percent of the ballots thanks to his social program, which comprises increasing the State's role in the economy, ending the private pension system, and extending the rights of the population. 

Far-right politician Kast, on the other hand, promised to oppose abortion, cut taxes, and even dig a ditch at the border to prevent migrants from entering the country. Below are the guidelines that will rule citizen suffrage in this highly-polarized electoral process.

Citizens must carry their ID and use a blue paste pencil to cast their votes in polling stations, which will open from 08:00 a.m. To prevent COVID-19 contagions, voters must maintain physical distance, wear masks, and disinfect their hands with alcohol before and while staying at the voting centers.

Voters must go to the polls alone, except for those who require assistance to mark their ballots or need to go with a minor to the voting center due to force majeure reasons. In each polling station, authorities will establish a maximum seating capacity to avoid overcrowding, and under no circumstances, people with COVID-19 will be allowed to enter.

Pregnant women, senior people, and citizens with disabilities will have a preference in vote exercising. They are suggested to vote between 14:00 and 18:00, the period of lowest voters flow.

Journalists must be accredited before the electoral office's delegate in advance. They are also asked to coordinate the times that they will stay inside the premises to avoid generating agglomerations. All interviews will take place outside the polling stations and at a ten-meter minimum distance from the premises' entering and leaving points.

 
Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.