Political Parties Agree to Postpone Constitutional Plebiscite
Chile
19 marzo 2020

On March 19, the Chilean political parties reached a unanimous consensus to postpone the date for the constituent plebiscite to October 25. The legislative process regarding this decision is expected to be resolved in the coming days.

The original date of the plebiscite was 26 April, but due to the spread of COVID-19 throughout the country, holding it on that date was no longer an option. The parties also agreed to hold the primaries on October 29 and municipal, gubernatorial and constituent elections on April 4, 2021; with a second round scheduled for May 2, 2021. 

The agreement must be enshrined in a constitutional reform to be approved by the Legislative Branch, which will probably happen in the next few days, since the television slot for the plebiscite was scheduled for next week. 

Senate president, Adriana Muñoz (PPD – opposition), said of the agreement that “it’s very good news, as 15 political parties in our country have reached an agreement to change the electoral calendar defined for 2020, because of the impact of the coronavirus on the health of our citizens. I am grateful for this effort, which is usually quite difficult in politics.”

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