Even ranks at the Colegio República de Siria in Ñuñoa and the Liceo José Victorino Lastarria in Providencia registered in the citizens’ consultation of Unidad Constituyente, after a cloudy start to the day full of doubts about the number of voters who will go to the polls to choose their presidential standard-bearer.
Although there is still no official calculation regarding the participation, the polling stations have already been closed whose results, despite the rain and the strong winds, would be exceeding the expectations of participation in this instance that has three options: Paula Narváez (backed by the Socialist Party, PPD, Liberal Party and New Deal), Yasna Provoste (Christian Democracy) and Carlos Maldonado (Radical Party).
The cross-sectional calculations in Unidad Constituyente indicate that, if the vote focuses on the militancy that constantly votes, it would favor Paula Narváez. And if you grow in participation it would be Yasna Provoste the beneficiary. It is believed that they can reach 300 thousand voters, which would triple the floor of the calculation of 100 thousand at the beginning of the day.
It is expected that the first results will be known at 19.00 hours, in a process that was organized only by the parties and without the help of the Servel, since these are non-legal primaries.
According to information from the community, the preliminary results would be given as the count progresses through press releases, only giving a voice when 100% of the count is completed.
One of the main problems reported was the multiple complaints of people accusing that they could not vote because the electoral roll would not be up to date.
The presidential candidates arrived early at their polling place. The helmsman of the Radical Party, Carlos Maldonado attended the Liceo Confederación Suiza in the commune of Santiago and from there he acknowledged that he has “the illusion that 1 million people will participate,” but he knows “that it is difficult, because it is not a legal primary, it is not the same conditions, it is not the same number of tables, we could not display the same information.”
He added that “I’m sorry,” but “everyone knows that I didn’t have the responsibility, I was in the Servel until the last minute.”
The standard-bearer of the Socialist Party and supported by the PPD, the Liberal Party and New Deal, Paula Narváez, arrived at the Simón Bolivar school, in the municipality of Las Condes and maintained that “there has been an enormous force both from the militant world and from the independent world to whom I am deeply grateful for having believed in this project.”
He said he hopes “a quiet day, that many people will turn out to vote, that the independent world will feel called to vote and that at the end of this afternoon we will be able to know the results.”
For her part, the candidate of the Christian Democracy, Yasna Provoste arrived to pay for Vallenar at about 11:15 a.m. “It seems to us that all the effort that is made today by citizens is going to be very valuable,” he said. And he emphasized that “our only expectation is that this will serve the unity of the center left, the unity of the opposition regardless of the number.”
“Regardless of the numerical perspective, it seems very valuable to us that the citizens of our country have come to this open and participatory call of Constituent Unity to define who is the best candidate to represent the unity of the center left, who is also the best alternative to face a candidate of continuity of this government that was already elected in the pact of Chile Vamos and that is what today this process is being deliberated,” the senator concluded.
Let us remember that after the failed registration of presidential candidates for the primaries of last July, the parties that make up the Constituent Unity pact will hold this Saturday, August 21, the citizen consultation that will allow them to define their letter to La Moneda.
The Christian Democracy (DC), Party for Democracy (PPD), Radical Party (PR) and Socialist Party (PS), plus the Liberal Party (PL) and the New Deal movement, agreed to carry out the process as a way to validate their choice to the electorate. Thus, former minister and current DC Senator Yasna Provoste, former seremi and former PS Minister Paula Narvaez, and former undersecretary and former PR Minister Carlos Maldonado are competing for the conventional —and non-binding— nomination.
According to the commitment set by the three letters, whoever wins and is registered this Monday anThe Servel — when the deadline for the registration of presidential, parliamentary and regional councillors – expires , will be supported by the other two in the presidential elections.
