Chileans reject overhaul of dictatorship-era constitution

According to preliminary results released on Sunday, Chileans resoundingly rejected a proposed new constitution that would have replaced the one enacted during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, outperforming the expectations of the conservative opposition.

With more than 88 percent of the ballots in, the reject camp held a 62 percent advantage over the supporters’ 38 percent.

The outcome is a much wider margin of victory than what was anticipated by polls, which had estimated that the constitution would be rejected by as much as 10%.

The compulsory election had a voter turnout of almost 15 million, with polling places opening at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) and finishing at 10:00 pm.

The 2019 social revolution that started gave rise to the idea of revising the constitution, but the 388-article draft was divisive and frequently perplexing to voters.

The new constitution aspired to decriminalize abortion, strengthen Indigenous rights, and create a society that was more welfare-based.

“It’s a defeat for the refounding of Chile,” said Javier Macaya, president of the conservative UDI party, surrounded by people celebrating the constitution’s defeat.

In October 2019, protests sprung up mostly in the capital led by students initially angered by a proposed metro fare hike.

Those demonstrations spiraled into wider discontent with the country’s neoliberal economic system as well as growing inequality.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric, who supported the new text, had called for national unity whatever the outcome as he voted in Punta Arenas.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
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