Debate in Chile grows over potential election postponement

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Politicians, academics and doctors in Chile on Friday debated the prospect of postponing elections due to the Covid-19 pandemic, just a few days before they are scheduled to be held.

More than 15 million Chileans are eligible to vote in a “mega-election” on April 10th and 11th, that will choose regional governors, mayors, city councilors and, importantly, the 155 members of the convention that will draft the country’s new constitution.

However, many believe that the pandemic will undermine the elections, given that the country is reporting rising infection figures, active cases and deaths amid a second wave of the pandemic.

For his part, Health Minister Enrique Paris said that “for the moment, with our current figures, we will not announce any changes.”

He also recalled that all measures will be taken, such as establishing a two-day election day, granting voting priority to seniors and disabled individuals, vaccinating polling station officials and implementing the health protocols that were effective in the October 2020 plebiscite.

However, the Health Minister warned that “health’s opinion will be given directly to the President of the Republic when it comes to making that decision, but what we are most interested in is that the protocols are complied with during the vote.”

Izkia Siches, president of the Medical Association, urged that the epidemiological context be carefully monitored and that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that the elections can be held, otherwise they will inevitably have to be postponed until conditions improve.

On the other hand, Communist Party president Guillermo Teillier, explained that health and political criteria should prevail, given that “this is a very advanced electoral process, which has already been postponed and for which care measures and more time have been taken for the ballot itself.”

In his opinion, should measures be rigorously implemented, there would be no reason for an increase in infections, something that did not happen during the plebiscite, and he pointed out that “if a postponement is decided, which so far I do not agree with, all the problems that it would entail must be considered” in terms of financing and credibility, and in terms of other elections to follow.

For Humanist Party deputy Tomas Hirch, the criteria for maintaining or changing the date “must place the health of the population first, which the government has so far failed to do,” in clear criticism of the executive.

Socialist deputy Maya Fernández agreed, stating that the procedure should be health-based and underlining the leading role that the Medical Association and health experts should play, as “political views should not be above expert analysis and advice.”

Source: Telesurtv