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Wednesday, August 3, 2016  
Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz on the approval of Chilean Vote Abroad: “This was an achievement of the State”
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"A time has come in which every Chilean citizen will be free to exert their right to choose their government, regardless of their country of residence", declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, after the Chamber of Deputies approved the bill with an overwhelming majority. The law project aimed at regulating the Chilean right to vote abroad for the Presidential Elections, Primary Elections, Plebiscites and Referendums. "With this, we will be perfecting our Democratic System. We will all be able to fully take part in the processes which will rule our lives" he added.

The Chamber of Deputies, in the project's third legislative procedure, approved with 110 votes in favour, and only 1 abstention, the Constitutional Organic Law that regulates Chileans right to vote. "This was an achievement of the State" declared the Foreign Minister, while highlighting the transversal support that the project received from all political parties.

"I would like to thank all the representatives in this last constitutional proceeding, both the ones from the government and the opposition. This process started 25 years ago, when congressman Carlos Dupré brought up the subject. We took our time, but the moment has come for all Chilean citizens to have the possibility of exerting their right to vote, regardless their country of residence" he specified.

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Once the project is decreed by President Michelle Bachelet, Chileans living abroad will be able to vote in the next presidential elections.

On this opportunity, the Minister also remembered and assessed the support and solidarity expressed by Chilean communities abroad. "They have never severed the bond with our country and it was time to recognize their right as citizens".

Of the 875.781 Chileans living abroad, of which almost a 50% resides in Argentina, an estimate of 400 thousand will be able to vote on the next presidential elections.

Law Project

The law establishes that Chileans abroad will be able to vote in the same way they would in Chile, on-site, on paper, on the ballot box, on the same day it takes place within our territory. Additionally, they will have to shift their residence to become a part of the international voters' roll, which will be managed by Chile's Electoral Service (Servel).

In each country that has a Chilean Consulate, an electoral commission will be constituted and it will be chaired by their respective Consul alongside with other member of the Institution which will serve as Secretary. The Consul will serve as electoral deputy and will be in charge of the electoral office. The Minister declared that "we are ready at the chancellery to face this challenge". Likewise, he announced that a diffusion campaign will be set in motion so people know the conditions, requisites and procedures to be able to exert this right.

With the approval of the Constitutional Organic Law, Chile will be up to date with the International treaties that acknowledge the right to vote of emigrants, so that they can express their opinion regarding the political fate of their country, joining the 116 nations that grant this right to their citizen residing abroad.