According to the latest polls, the favorites are Boric and Kast, which seems to confirm the erosion of the center right and center left that was seen throughout this year at the polls.
Boric, a 35-year-old deputy and former student leader from the southern region of Magallanes, once again positioned himself within the opposition and at the national level as the main reference after winning the primary in July against communist candidate Daniel Jadue, mayor of the capital’s commune of Recoleta .
For his part, Kast is a 55-year-old lawyer who has demonstrated in favor of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990) and is a supporter of the policies of the ultra-nationalist Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro.
In dialogue with Télam, Marcelo Mella Polanco, a political scientist from the University of Santiago de Chile, explained that if Boric and Kast go to the second round on December 19, “it would constitute one more affirmation of the end of the political cycle that began in 1989, with a predominance and hegemony of actors and parties located in the political center “.
The entire campaign was marked mainly by political and social polarization, which has deepened in the country since the social outbreak of October 18, 2019, as evidenced last week by the opening of a political trial against Piñera for his appearance in the journalistic investigation Pandora Papers.
“It is not a context of stability or tranquility, the country is affected by a situation of severe political crisis”, highlighted Mella Polanco.
In addition, the elections take place in the midst of a rebound in coronavirus cases, so for this election day the special and strict health protocol of social distancing will be maintained, special hours for certain age groups and mandatory use of chinstrap and alcohol gel inside the enclosure.
The relaxation of the regulations due to the drop in cases in recent months generated a slight rebound, but the health authorities ruled out that it was a “new wave” of coronavirus, due to the successful vaccination plan.
Tomorrow 14,959,945 Chileans are called to vote voluntarily within the country and 71,018 abroad, according to data from the Chilean Electoral Service (Servel).
Within the country, the key points to look at are four communes (neighborhoods) in the capital that have the highest number of eligible voters: Puente Alto (403,129), Maipú (392,526), Santiago Centro (339,067) and La Florida (308,805); and Viña del Mar with 302,008.
In the case of foreign countries, the United States leads the list of countries with more Chileans authorized with 9,744 and in second place is Argentina with 9,106.
“It is probable that in this election, in the first round, there will be a participation that exceeds the average, but it is not certain that the ballot will be able to mobilize more people”, mainly due to the tradition of little electoral participation of Chileans since the Suffrage became voluntary, said Mella Polanco.
He warned that “what is really important” is “to identify how the electorate that will participate next November 21 is made up” because the recent elections (plebiscite, constituents, mayors and governors) “concluded with an unprecedented and unexpected victory that favored in a way very unsuspected to the most independent leftist candidates “.
In his opinion, these results had “as a common denominator a very active participation of young people” and, “if more people or fewer young people vote, it seems to me that it is decisive for the results”.
“As of this date, we know something about the voting intention of some candidates and we know the social composition of that voting intention, so the results could change in one direction or another depending on the age of the voters and the membership by level of vote. income, “he explained.
Voting, as is customary in Chile, takes place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Although the campaign was focused on the presidential elections, Chileans will also elect their representatives in the Chamber of Deputies (155 seats) and 27 of the 43 senators.
In the event that no presidential candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes, the ballot will take place on Sunday, December 19.
Source From: Ambito
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