As of today, at 7pm GMT, and in a historic moment, 36.137 Chileans living abroad in 62 countries will be able to vote for the first time in a presidential election.
Wellington, New Zealand, is going to be the first city on Earth where voters can go and cast their votes.
Polling stations are set to open on 19 November at 8am, local time. Due to the time difference between the two countries, that is 18 November at 4pm, Chilean time.
New Zealand’s capital is the only city in the country set to receive the 522 nationals who voluntarily registered to participate in this year’s election.
Next, it is going to be Australia’s turn, with Camberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney as the four cities that will, in total, allow 2.013 people to vote for one of the 8 candidates running for the presidential seat.
The bill was passed in October 2016 and it stipulates that citizens who are over 18 years of age, lawfully registered, can participate in presidential primaries, presidential elections, run-off presidential elections and plebiscites.
The foreign process will come to an end in San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles in the United States, cities in which 1.269 people registered to choose a new president to follow the former head of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet.
Ms Bachelet, who currently serves her second term in office, is obliged by Chilean Law to step down on 11 March 2018, but life after La Moneda is already shaping for the head of State, as she was summoned by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutérres, to be a part of the High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation.
Election in continental Chile is scheduled to begin on 19 November at 8am local time, 11am GMT, and polling stations are going to close at 6pm, Chile time. The Electoral Service might possibly give the first results within an hour after that.
