National Chamber of Commerce rejects establishment of election holiday

SANTIAGO.- The National Chamber of Commerce (CNC) announced its decision against creating a holiday on December 11th of this year in light of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The organization explained that, if they were to heed the request made by the Electoral Service, a new holiday would imply "a great cost to the country with regards to production and economic activity". According to the Chamber, the holiday could cost the commerce sector some US$ 50 million dollars.

"The department of commerce believes that establishing a new holiday on that day would go against the objective currently being sought (to positively confront the financial crisis), since it would generate a significant cost for the country and especially for those with lower incomes", added the CNC.

The CNC also publicly expressed that, in their view, December 11th is not a good day to hold elections, indicating that the organization disagrees with moving the date of the election up by two months, saying that it would be ideal to hold the elections on Sunday the 13th. "That is the date that least affects the entire country and represents the lowest cost during a year that is very financially complex", he explained.