As the last votes are being counted, it is clear who is the ‘winner’ of the 2023 Constitutional Council elections. With an estimated 22 out of 50 seats in the council, the Partido Republicano leaves any other party behind. With the winner being decided, the reactions by politicians trickle in.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric thanked everyone who was involved during the voting process today, and “invited” the Republican Party not to make the same mistakes as his coalition did during last year’s constitutional process.
“The previous process, and we must admit it, failed because we did not know how to listen to those who thought differently within our coalition,” Boric said. “This constitutional council will have the Republican responsibility to turn our mistakes into a lesson to avoid that history repeats itself, and to draft a text that appeals to the great majority of the country.”
“A Constitution born out of a democratic process will be able to have social legitimacy and give long-term stability to our country, which is what our people need,” the President added. “If we are capable of lowering the barriers between ourselves and overcoming distrust and polarization, I have no doubt that we will be able to achieve it.”
To that end, Boric called for unity among the ruling parties. This will be necessary, he said, to “keep fighting for our convictions.”
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Election day in Santiago: high voter turnout but little confidence in the process
José Kast, leader of the Republican Party and Boric’s opponent during the 2021 Presidential elections, celebrated the election results. He used his party’s victory to scold the Boric Administration. With this electoral outcome, Chileans have “defeated the lack of will, apathy and indifference” of the current government, he said.
Chileans have given a clear sign about the direction in which they want to see the country go, Kast said: “Chile has defeated a failed government that has been unable to face the security, economic and social crisis.”
“We urgently need this government to start governing and take responsibility for guaranteeing order, prosperity and peace,” he added.
Read more about the elections:
Republican Party wins Constitutional Council election by large margin
Matthijs is a newly graduated journalism student from Groningen, the Netherlands. As a starting journalist and aspiring foreign correspondent, he decided to extend his 6-month university exchange in Chile to do an internship at Chile Today. He enjoys writing about a broad range of topics, but international relations, politics and conflicts are his key interests.