Santiago, Chile- The Mapuche poet Maribel Mora Curriao, who lives in the Chilean capital, was pleased to vote on Sunday, which she called “Historic election To the Mapuche people”.

Curriao flew to Freire, a small town in southern Chile, to vote-closer to his roots.

“We voted with pride and identity for the first time. We take this process very seriously and we are very aware that this is a rare opportunity not only for us but for the entire Chilean people,” she told Al Jazeera.

Without the Mapuche community, everything that happens from now on will not happen. Don’t miss the opportunity, don’t miss the opportunity. “

Chileans will vote in a two-day election starting on Saturday to elect mayors, governors and councillors of all South American countries.

Voters will also elect 155 representatives to form a constitutional convention whose task is to draft a new constitution to replace the current constitution, which was written by Augusto Pinochet in the 1980s under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet .

Andres Tagle, chairman of the Electoral Services Commission, said: “Everything is under control.” The voting results are expected to be announced late on Sunday night.

For the first time in Chile’s history, the ballot box was sealed and kept in the polling field on Saturday night. Election officials guarded the sealed ballot boxes at 2,700 polling stations (including schools and churches) across the country, and the Ministry of Defense sent more than 23,000 soldiers to protect them as an additional security measure.

Tagger said: “If there is a fraud attempt, we will find out.”

On Saturday, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera encouraged people to vote, stating that “voting is to respect democracy and our society.” He wrote on Twitter: “Today, the voice of the people must be heard in this historic election.”

Delegates who choose to join the Constitutional Convention will have nine months (and possibly an extension of three months) to write Chile’s new constitution. It will then be presented to voters in the referendum next year, and voting will be mandatory.

Manriquez, 83, says voting is a way for her to participate in shaping the country’s future [Odette Magnet/Al Jazeera]

Monica Manriquez, 83, was the first person to vote at Luis Arrieta Cañas Elementary School in Penaloren County, San Diego. The local time was 8:30 in the morning, and there were almost no people around.

Manriques told Al Jazeera: “I want to do everything possible to participate in shaping our country’s future.” “Elections largely define the destiny of a country.”

The turnout in these two days was very low, especially in working-class communities. According to data from the Electoral Services Commission, 20% of Chile’s 14 million eligible voters (approximately 3 million people) voted on Saturday.

Political analysts say that part of the reason for the low turnout is the lack of information and the COVID-19 pandemic. Chile has so far reported 27,800 coronavirus-related deaths and more than 1.28 million cases.

Although government officials assured the public that voting will be conducted under safe conditions during the pandemic, the country’s health minister on Saturday urged the public to “vote and go home”.

According to election experts, voter participation must reach the same level as the referendum in October last year, when Chileans voted 78% in favor of rewriting the constitution. Approximately 51% of Chileans participated in this process.

Historian and feminist Luna Follegati voted on Sunday morning and emphasized the importance of expressing opinions in the drafting of a new constitution.

She told Al Jazeera: “Without feminism, there would be no social change.”

“Today, when writing a new constitution, we must include our feminist requirements. If not, we will continue to build a weak democratic system that violates women’s rights and freedoms. The feminist movement has become apparent recently. : We will not remain silent again.”