President José Antonio Kast will attend a laboratory at 10 a.m. this Wednesday for a drug test, the first since taking office. He will do so amid opposition criticism over ministers' delay in complying with the law requiring it upon assuming duties. He will use the occasion to announce related measures.
President José Antonio Kast will arrive at a laboratory at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, for a hair drug test, as reported by La Tercera. This will be his first such exam since assuming office at La Moneda, amid opposition pressure accusing ministers of failing to take it upon taking their posts.
Ley N° 21.806 states that "all ministers of state, undersecretaries, presidential delegates, regional ministerial secretaries and service heads, upon assuming office, must submit to a drug consumption exam". The government has said the tests will be conducted in the coming days, while Socialist opposition figures, led by Senator Daniella Cicardini and Deputies Daniel Manouchehri and Juan Santana, filed a request with the Comptroller General to oversee compliance.
Cicardini questioned: "Did they do it or not? Why doesn't anyone know the results yet?". Manouchehri added: "A month has passed and there is still no official information". Santana stressed: "The law is clear; it establishes an obligation upon assuming and requires public disclosure of results".
Kast will also announce measures to strengthen his administration's transparency agenda, noting that the test was already a requirement during the transition. The hair test is considered more accurate than blood or urine tests.
