National headquarters of the Electoral Service in Santiago since 1986
The Electoral Service of Chile (Spanish: Servicio Electoral de Chile), better known by its acronymServel, is an autonomous constitutional agency responsible for overseeing electoral processes in Chile. It administers national elections and referendums, supervises political party operations, ensures compliance with campaign finance regulations, and maintains the electoral register and party registry.[1][2] Servel is the highest administrative authority on electoral matters in the country.
Servel's legal framework is established by a constitutional organic law, and its internal organization, staffing, and operational regulations are defined by statute. The agency is headquartered in Santiago.
Servel began operating on 1 October 1986, as the legal successor to the Electoral Registry Directorate (Dirección del Registro Electoral). Judicial oversight of elections remains under the jurisdiction of the Election Certification Tribunal (Tribunal Calificador de Elecciones) and the Regional Electoral Tribunals. A constitutional reform in 2015 granted Servel full autonomy.[3] Until that year, Servel was overseen by the President of the Republic via the Ministry of the Interior.
History
Headquarters of the Electoral Registry Directorate from 1957 to 1977
The origins of Chile's electoral administration date back to 1925, with the creation of the Electoral Registry Conservator (Conservador del Registro Electoral) through Decree Law No. 343.[4][5][6][7] The office began registering voters on 15 April 1925.[8] Decree Law No. 623, issued in October that year, defined the agency's initial staffing at six employees.[9] Ramón Zañartu Eguiguren was appointed the first conservator.[10]
Initially, the office compiled registration records from local boards. Its responsibilities later expanded to include cleaning and updating voter rolls, particularly after the passage of Law No. 4554 in 1929.[11] The Electoral Registry Conservator was replaced by the Electoral Registry Directorate on 7 April 1931, under the terms of Decree with Force of Law No. 82, based on Law No. 4763.[12] The Directorate operated until 1986[13] and was based in several locations over time, including offices in the National Congress building[14][15] and, from 1957 to 1977, the former Mortgage Credit Fund building (now the headquarters of the Constitutional Court of Chile).[16][17]
Following the 1973 military coup, allegations of fraud in previous elections led to a loss of confidence in the electoral system. In July 1974, the existing electoral rolls were destroyed, resulting in the loss of voter data from before 1973.[18][19]
Servel was formally established by Law No. 18.556, published on 1 October 1986.[20] It was housed at 611 Esmeralda Street in central Santiago,[21] in a 1934 Art Nouveau building designed by architects Fernando de la Cruz and Hernán Rojas Santa María.[22] Originally occupying only part of the building, Servel expanded to occupy the entire premises in January 1987.[21]
In 2012, Law No. 20.568 introduced automatic voter registration and voluntary voting, and created a new Governing Council to oversee Servel.[23] In 2015, Law No. 20.860 amended the Constitution to grant Servel full constitutional autonomy.[24]
In June 2018, Servel's Citizen Services Unit began developing a Historical Archive. The project identified documents dating from 1925 to 1973 and established the Juan Ignacio García Collection, composed of the personal archives of a former Servel director.[25] Additional electoral protocol documents were added to the collection in 2019.[26]
Organization
Servel council members meeting with President Michelle Bachelet in 2015
Since 2012, Servel has been governed by a Governing Council and a National Director. The Council is responsible for setting overall policy, while the Director handles day-to-day administration.[27] Until 2015, Servel reported to the President of the Republic through the Ministry of the Interior.
The Governing Council consists of five members appointed by the President of the Republic, with the approval of two-thirds of the Senate. The President of the Council is designated by a majority vote of the Council for a four-year term. The President communicates the Council's decisions to the National Director, the Election Certification Tribunal, and the Regional Electoral Courts.[28]
The National Director serves as the agency's legal representative and chief executive.
Current Governing Council
Headquarters of Servel’s Metropolitan Regional Directorate
↑ Carmona Santander, Carlos (December 2016). "Nuevo edificio del Tribunal Constitucional"(PDF). Santiago de Chile: Ediciones del Archivo Central Andrés Bello. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
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