SANTIAGO – As recently announced, 14.97 million Chileans will be eligible to vote in the plebiscite for a new Constitution, scheduled for Oct. 25. Everyone 18 years of age and older without a criminal record can vote in what many consider to be a historic referendum. Nearly 60,000 Chileans living abroad can also participate.
Although the Chilean authorities are currently still battling one of the worst health crises in the history of the country, people are looking forward to Oct. 25, the date of the plebiscite for a new Constitution. Originally scheduled for April and rescheduled due to the coronavirus outbreak, the plebiscite is now less than four months.
For the Chilean National Electoral Service (Servel), preparations for the referendum have already begun, although in a worst-case scenario – if Chile still hasn’t managed to control the coronavirus outbreak – the referendum could be rescheduled again.
On Saturday, the Servel announced how many people are eligible to vote in the referendum according to its electoral register: 14.91 million Chileans inside the country’s borders and another 60,000 outside Chilean territory can vote.
According to the Servel, changing the date of the referendum from April to October, made it possible for an additional nearly 120,000 Chileans who turned 18 to be able to vote. People with a criminal record, underaged Chileans, and Chileans with dementia are excluded from voting in the referendum, the Servel says.
Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.