Colombia and Chile Know Plenty of High Figures of Abstention

May 22nd 2018 - Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia, Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera, in Chile are Latin American three heads of state to win Presidential elections in Latin America with indexes of abstention above %50. Their victories with high abstention figures were not questioned by neighbor countries in the region, neither  by Europe nor by th U.S.A. The international organisms did not question the results, the way right wing governments did with the victory obtained by Nicolás Maduro this May 20th. The candidate of the Wide Front of the Motherland, Nicolás Maduro, conquered 6.190.612 votos -close to 68% of the suffrages- in an electoral event with 46.02% participation.

On December 15th, 2013, Michelle Bachelet won the second presidential round in Chile with 58% of abstention, according to figures published by the Chilean Website El Mostrador.

Six months later, Colombia celebrated elections. Juan Manuel Santos won with %53 abstention, according to the Colombian Newspaper El País. 

Last December 17th, the rightwing entrepreneur Sebastián Piñera won the Chilean Presidency with %54.6 of abstention. A total of  14,347,288 electors were called to vote, but only 7,024,222 responded in Chile.

The abstention has been constant in countries such as Chile and Colombia. In fact, the Chilean media has portrayed electoral participation in this southern nation several times has been the lowest in the region. Even worse, there is no need of any political group exhorting for abstention: It's voluntary.

This situation seems to repeat in Colombia. Since 1978, the abstention in presidential and legislative polls has usually been of 60%. Only in years 1990 and 1998, the electoral participation reached close to 40%, according to a report of the newspaper El Colombiano.

Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidential polls in November 2016. The abstention was of 46%, and the participation was the lowest since 1996, when 53.5% of the American enabled voters attended to the elections.

The Presidential elections celebrated in Venezuela last May 20th had the seil of aggressions by the United States, the European Union and their Latin American allies. The Venezuelan Table of the Democratic Unity (MUD in its Spanish accronym), openly called the Venezuelans not to participate in the last elections this May 20th.

According to a research made by the Venezuelan News Agency (AVN in its Spanish accronym), USA, The EU and its allies rallied 48 attacks against Venezuela and its elections for 26 days in a row. They also launched threats never sent against Chile nor Colombia in the last two decades. 

Paraguay and Costa Rica Also Have Abstention Issues

Paraguay and Costa Rica also celebrated presidential elections this year with high abstention figures. In fact, last April 22nd, Mario Abdo Benítez was elected with 35% abstention. Only 2,595,465 participated from a universe of 4,2 electors, according to reports by the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice (TSJE), Russia Today said. 

On April 01st, Costa Rica celebrated a second electoral round. The winner was Carlos Alvarado, Governor of the party Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), with 33% abstention. The abstention rate dropped in Costa Rica, comparing with the polls of April 2014, when Luis Guillermo Solís was elected with 43.4% abstention. 

Europe and USA also Indiferent


Europe is not far behind in terms of abstention. On June 26, 2016 general elections were held in Spain, in a day where they were called to pay 36.5 million Spaniards, and finally they did 24,067,438 million, that is to say that abstention was 30.16%, The Spanish portal El Mundo reflected two years ago.

In May 2017, Emanuel Macrom became the elected president of France when he won the presidential election of that year, a day where abstention was close to 26%. In addition, there was 8.49% of white votes and 3% of null votes, the Cadena Ser portal reported on that occasion.

A year later, general elections were held in the United Kingdom. To the day 46,843,896 electors were called to participate, but attended 32,196,918, that is to say, the abstention was of 31,3%, according to results that the Chilean newspaper El Mostrador reported.

Read the original article in Spanish, here: https://www.aporrea.org/internacionales/n325473.html

English Version: María Eugenia Acero Colomine

Twitter: @andesenfrungen

Blog: fantasiasneurastenicas.blogspot.com 
acerocolomine@gmail.com

aporreainternational@gmail.com