Chile, second municipal election day marked by the participation of former Mayor Jadue

teleSUR English

*Citizens in charge of supervising act of voting fervently defend democracy *Voting is a process as complex as the verification and counting *Suffrage is compulsory under threat of fine *Hundreds of people celebrated attendance of former Mayor Daniel Jaude to vote *Elections were held over two days

Transcript

00:00In Chile, the second and last election day was marked by the vote of former Mayor Daniel

00:04Hadue, finally authorized by the court to be released from house arrest.

00:07Let's see.

00:08He is sitting at a desk, and although he is still in school, this time he had to be a

00:15voting officer at the age of 18.

00:18That's why he brings a ball, to play in the free time he thought he would have.

00:22But these elections give no truce.

00:24There are a lot of votes to count and verify.

00:30Like him, his young table mates are also responsible for this electoral act in Chile.

00:36It is their first time participating, and they face two fierce proxies of political

00:40parties that supervise every movement.

00:43It is what they must do, even if others are kinder than them, like Don Fernando.

00:47At 84 years of age, although he is there to defend the votes of his coalition, his civic

00:52spirit is to defend democracy.

00:58We guarantee that in the election we verify that the vote corresponds, that it is signed

01:03correctly and that it reflects the will of the person who voted, and if there is any

01:06conversation necessary to clarify something, we leave it to what the law indicates and

01:11we follow the procedures of the law.

01:14If the preference marked is not clear, the debate will begin, and it is almost always

01:21the null votes that are the most discussed because if a scratch marks an option, the

01:25most passionate proxies will try to add it to their candidate.

01:29This will not be the case of Constanza.

01:31She made sure to nullify her ballot without any doubt.

01:40I stopped voting because it was not mandatory, and once it was mandatory again, I came back

01:45to vote.

01:46I don't think anything can happen, I have no hope that this will change.

01:50The truth is that I want to go and live in the countryside, far away from everything.

02:01But there, in the countryside, she will also have to vote.

02:04In Chile, suffrage is obligatory under threat of a fine, and while Constanza is looking

02:10for ways to avoid it, there are others who, even in provisional detention, are looking

02:14for ways to vote.

02:15There are so many politicians and celebrities imprisoned in Chile today, that this was another

02:20of the issues that marked the day.

02:22The former reality girl and former mayor of Maipú, under house arrest for embezzlement,

02:28had legal permission but did not go.

02:33I am making this video because I find it incomprehensible that the media and the press are once again

02:38at my doorstep announcing a news that does not exist.

02:42I could not go to vote at the authorized time.

02:47Daniel Jaru, the former communist mayor investigated for the unpublished popular pharmacies in

02:52Chile, had no problem receiving the press at the door of his house, where he is being

02:57held in preventive custody.

02:59In fact, his arrival at the precinct was accompanied by hundreds of supporters who condemned his

03:04persecution and celebrated his attendance to vote.

03:10It is important to highlight the fact that someone from the Third Guarantee Court has

03:13corrected the arbitrariness of Judge Munoz, who, after five days, tried to prevent me

03:19from exercising a constitutional right such as the right to vote.

03:28A long day that extends with a slow count for the positions of mayor, regional councillors,

03:34councilmen and governors, marking the public interest in the positions that will administer

03:38the capital and the most important cities of the country.

03:46It is the citizens who do the weighing when it comes to making choices.

03:49Their voice is the one that matters on a day like today, not the predictions that we, the

03:53authorities and analysts, can make.

03:58It will be necessary to see which political coalitions are the most punished in the midst

04:03of the apathy that forces citizens to this minimal democratic participation.

04:08Paola Dracnyk, Telesur, Chile.

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