Chilean President Sebastian Pinera promulgated Tuesday, April 6 a law postponing for five weeks the election, initially scheduled for this weekend, of the members of the Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting the future Constitution of the country.
“We did not consider it prudent or opportune to organize elections next weekend
,” he said as he signed the law in Santiago.
The ballot will take place on May 15 and 16.
"The reasons which pushed our government to promote this postponement are very solid and there are two: to take care of the health of our compatriots and to take care of the health of our democracy"
, added the Head of State.
Read also: In Chile, a referendum to settle the legacy of Augusto Pinochet
The ballot was initially due to take place on Saturday and Sunday, but the head of state proposed on March 28 to postpone it in the face of a sudden increase in Covid-19 contamination.
After more than a week of debate, the postponement was finally finally approved by Parliament on Tuesday.
The country of 19 million inhabitants is experiencing record daily contamination figures, higher than during the first wave, and the occupancy rate of intensive care beds is around 95%.
Nearly 90% of the population has been confined again for ten days.
The country has so far administered at least one dose of the vaccine to more than 7 million people and two doses to more than 4 million.
On October 25, the Chileans voted in a referendum (79%) for a change in the Constitution to replace the current one inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).
In addition to the members of the Constituent, the Chileans will also be called upon during this ballot to elect their mayors and governors.
