The elections do not stop in the Ñuble Region. Although the Chile Contigo Mejor pact, which brings together the ruling party parties, did not want to hold legal primaries in the region, the bases of the El Carmen commune and the pre-candidates of the sector pressured for a democratic mechanism to be applied to define a single candidate.
This is how next Sunday, June 30, the Christian Democrats (DC), the Socialist Party (PS) and Social Convergence (CS) will face their respective candidates, Eduardo Riquelme, Marcelo Rubilar and Guillermo Feris, in an unprecedented citizen consultation in the commune, which will have the support of the calling parties.
The committee already has regulations that set the framework for the process, which were worked on jointly by the forces that are carrying out the consultation. The communal commission has already been established, made up of Elizabeth Umanzor, Andrés Lavanderos and Victoria Riquelme, which is in charge of the operational aspects of the non-conventional primary.
In total, 10 polling stations will be set up, each with three members, one from each party. There will also be one general representative for each group. The venue that will host the voters will be the Elise Mottart School, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The electoral roll that will be used will be that of the 2023 Plebiscite, and everyone will be able to participate. It will be an open citizen consultation, therefore, there are no limitations for those who are members of parties from other blocs.
The aim is for the process to be as participatory and transparent as possible, but it must be remembered that the Electoral Service is not in charge of it. Voting is not obligatory, and members will not be chosen at random, as it will be members of the same parties who will fulfil that role.
There will be 4,000 voting cards available, considering approximately 30% participation, since the commune’s electoral roll as of December 2023 was 14,424 voters.
“It is the best alternative we have”
For DC candidate Eduardo Riquelme, “the citizen consultation that will take place on June 30 is the most democratic alternative we have today to be able to define who is the candidate who can best represent us in October. This consultation has a framework, it has a regulation that was drafted by the three political forces, and it is already validated by all parties. A commission has already been established at the national level, as well as at the regional and communal level, which are reviewing all the operational details so that this consultation is as participatory and transparent as possible for the community.”
Riquelme invited the people of El Carmen “to follow me on social media, to send me their concerns, what they think the communal authorities should focus on in the coming years here in El Carmen. We know that the priorities are roads, continuing with drinking water, education, health, security, there are many needs and we must establish priorities.”
“Proud to lead this collective project”
From the PS, candidate Marcelo Rubilar also highlighted the fact that last week the three teams of candidates met and managed to form the commission that regulates the citizen consultation.
“A regulation was also approved, and the people who will be able to vote are the same as those who were eligible in October 2023, that is, 12,424 voters,” he said.
Rubilar stressed that the tables will be open for eight hours, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
“The other thing is that each candidate will put his or her representative in each of the 10 tables,” he stressed, also calling for participation in the June 30th voting session.
“I feel very proud to lead this collective project in which many people support me and in a transversal way. I think it is important to highlight that it is a triumph of democracy not to allow an arbitrary, ‘hand-picked’ assignment from the central level in Santiago or any other place other than El Carmen. This is an important agreement that we candidates have made, and probably rarely seen, through which the Carmeline community will set an example this Sunday, June 30,” he said.
“We hope that it will bring together many Carmeline men and women”
Guillermo Feris, a candidate for Convergencia Social, said: “We have been working hard for several months to ensure that this democratic process, which we hope will bring together many Carmelinos and Carmelinas, can be developed in a very successful manner. It is important to remember that everyone who is registered in the municipal register can vote, which will be considered until December of last year, that is, until the plebiscite. It is a process carried out by a municipal electoral commission that has been specially established for these purposes, and they will be in charge of ensuring that it develops well, in addition to the logistical support that any election has, because this is quite similar in that sense.”
Feris invited the residents “to come to the Elise Mottart school this Sunday, June 30, to vote and choose who will represent us as mayor of the Chile Contigo Mejor Pact, for the mayor of our beloved commune of El Carmen. I hope that a large number of Carmelinos will gather to be able to better represent their interests.”
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