2024-03-24 11:09:52
The unions expressed to EL DÍNAMO their discomfort at this possibility and explained the risks it would imply for this sector.
Within the framework of the next municipal and regional elections On October 27, Andrés Tagle, president of the Electoral Service (Servel), proposed hold the elections in two days, given the large number of candidates.
After this, the Government accepted the request and indicated that in the coming days they will present “a legal reform that allows the election to be held on two consecutive days“.
Millionaires loses
However, the trade was reluctant to do so due to the “damage it would cause to sales“.
Executives from the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS) and the National Chamber of Commerce (CNC), told THE DYNAMO your discomfort given the possibility that the elections will last two days.
“We understand the challenges that Servel has expressed, but whatever decision is made, we hope that this does not result in a new impact on the normal functioning of commerce,” José Pakomio, president of the CNC, began by saying.
As an example and according to CNC figures, the last election on December 17 of last year meant losses close to 7,700 million pesos, affecting more than 2,000 SMEs nationwide.
“The economy is not in the best moment to add more days without opening, so It is necessary for our country to take a leap of civic maturity and can adequately combine voting and work,” he added.
“Elections should not imply a paralysis of the country’s activity”
For his part, George Lever, Studies Manager of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce, told THE DYNAMO that “although there are no grounds to question Servel’s technical opinion, we are concerned that, regardless of whether it is one or two days, “Election days should not imply a paralysis of the country’s activity.”
“Companies guarantee their collaborators access to the electoral process, which makes unnecessary to impose forced closures that generate great damage to the sector and to consumers,” he criticized.
Furthermore, he recalled that “in recent years, Election closures translated into lower sales of around 60% on voting daysincluding what happened last December with the forced closure on the last Sunday just before Christmas, the most important time of the year for the sector.”
“International experience shows that elections can and economic and consumer activities must be carried out as normally as possible, and we see no reason for measures to persist in our country that at this point are not justified and generate an excessive impact,” he concluded.