- Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. Chile held its first voluntary election. Previously, enrolled voters were fined if they did not vote. Only 40 percent voted in this latest election.
Source: BBC POSTED BY Stacey Northup on Sunday, November 4, 2012
3 Comments
Ben P.
11/29/2012 01:12:13 pm
Pinera is the first president to truly utilize democracy in Chile. The option of not voting is a political stance in itself, and not allowing citizens to take that stance is a lack of freedom. Like Pinera said, giving voters the freedom to not participate still holds Chile's citizens responsible -- if they don't want to vote, they should at least be informed or have a strong reason to abstain.
Lianne Farber
11/29/2012 11:33:39 pm
It's a shame that with the increase of freedom in Chile, the percentage of voters decreased. Freedom isn't a given, it should be deserved, and the poor showing of voters in Chile shows that maybe they aren't ready for this freedom they have been given. I think the citizens of Chile need to be better informed on upcoming elections and realize that they aren't going to be handed any more freedoms without working for them. 7/2/2013 01:46:20 pm
Like Pinera said, if they don't want to vote, they should at least be informed or have a strong reason to abstain. Leave a Reply. |