Chileans vote against new conservative constitution to replace current dictatorship-era text

Chilean voters rejected a proposed conservative constitution to replace the country’s current text which dates back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, on Sunday (Dec 17). The recent vote came over a year after Chileans also rejected the proposed constitution written by a left-leaning convention which was also categorised as one of the world’s most progressive charters.

With 99.65 per cent of votes counted late Sunday, around 55.76 per cent rejected the new text while 44.24 per cent voted in favour of it.

Therefore with no majority once again, the 1980 constitution drafted during Pinochet’s bloody dictatorship – which has been amended several times over the years – will now remain in place.

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What happens now?

Now that both drafts have been rejected, Leftist President Gabriel Boric said his government wouldn’t pursue a third rewrite and would move to amend the current text for pension and tax reform through the legislature.

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“The country got polarized, divided,” said Boric during a televised address, adding that the result shows the process “didn’t channel the hopes of having a new constitution written by everyone.”

The attempts to change the current text came after the country had been shaken by large anti-inequality protests in October 2019, leading the lawmakers to propose a change in the constitution as a way to quell the unrest.

The latest draft which was said to be more conservative than the one written during Pinochet’s rule between 1973-1990 was written mostly by the country’s right-wing Republican Party, led by Jose Antonio Kast.

The proposed 216-article constitution took years to draft and placed private property rights and strict rules around immigration and abortion. One of the most controversial articles in this draft said that “the law protects the life of the unborn,” which many had warned could make abortion fully illegal in the South American country.

The current Chilean law allows abortions for three reasons, rape, an unviable fetus and risk to the life of the mother.

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“Finally, after four years of intense debate and constitutional conversation, we’ve ended up at the same point,” said political analyst Kenneth Bunker, as quoted by Reuters.

He also noted that while the two sides have decided to give up on a new rewrite“the conversation is going to stop” and expects the issue to become key in the next presidential elections.

Political polarisation

Many Chileans have attributed the failure of both drafts to the country’s political polarisation, which has made it impossible for them to agree on a replacement constitution.

“Our differences are so irreconcilable that we cannot find a middle ground from which to move forward, and that is very sad indeed,” Claudio Fernandez, 41,told Reuters inthe capital Santiago

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Most citizens are exhausted after 10 elections of various types in less than two and a half years. However, voting is compulsory in Chile.

The previous draft was dominated by left wing forces and focused on the expansion of social, indigenous, environmental and gender rights. The text was overwhelmingly rejected by voters back in September 2022.

(With inputs from agencies)