Chile elections 2021: official Sebastián Sichel calls to vote against the country’s polarization

The candidate of the ruling party for the presidential elections of Chile, the center-right Sebastian Sichel, made a call this Sunday to vote against the “polarization” of the country, in one of the most crucial and uncertain elections in recent decades.

“I hope they vote for moderate people. Do not buy the tale of the candidates who scare the other through fear “, expressed Sichel, a former minister without political militancy and the coalition letter of the current president, the conservative Sebastian Piñera.

The center-rightist was confident and added that in Chile “There is a great silent majority that always votes against polarization” and that “seeks to build bridges.”

The 44-year-old lawyer left in September as one of the favorites along with the left-wing deputy Gabriel Boric, but, after several setbacks in the debates, he was surpassed by the ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast, whose rise has polarized the vote in an unprecedented way.

Sichel, candidate of the conservative group Chile We Can More, defines himself as a center-right although for years he was a member of the great coalition of the left, even holding public office during the first term of the socialist Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010).

The decline of his campaign and his defense of causes such as equal marriage, contrary to the guidelines of the toughest sectors of the ruling party, caused a crisis within the government coalition.

Several members of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), the most right-wing party in the group, turned their backs on him and publicly announced their support for Kast, a Catholic far-right, and the charter of the Republican Party, formed in 2019.

“Your program (Kast’s) I will never be able to approve it (…) I want to protect more women in Chile and I believe that the environment is a priority”, Alleged Sichel from a polling station in Santiago.

According to the polls, none of the seven candidates would win in the first round and Kast and Boric would go to the December 19 ballot, although experts agree that this is the most uncertain vote in recent decades and all scenarios are possible.

More than 15 million people are called to the polls to elect the new president but also to partially renew Parliament, a crucial element for the governance of the country.

All the deputies (155) will be elected for a period of 4 years and 27 senators out of a total of 50 for a period of 8 years, in addition to more than 300 regional authorities.

One of the big questions is participation, since since the vote is voluntary (2012), no election has exceeded 50% of the roll except the plebiscite for a new 2020 Constitution.

Piñera’s successor, who will take office in March 2022, will have great challenges ahead such as economic recovery after the covid-19 pandemic, channeling a strong social and institutional crisis that began in 2019 and implementing the rules of the new Constitution if approved.

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