Chilean voters have rejected a new constitution that would have been one of the world’s most progressive and that would have replaced a charter imposed by the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet 41 years ago.
Chilean officials said that with 99% of Sunday’s plebiscite’s votes counted, more than 61% of voters had rejected the new charter. A little more than 38% voted to approve.
In 2020, almost 80% of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution. Karol Cariola, an approval campaign spokeswoman, said Sunday the mandate to draft a new charter remains.
After Sunday’s vote, President Gabriel Boric said he would work with Chilean communities and politicians to draft new text. Political parties say they also are committed to working with voters to design a new charter.
The proposed charter included rights to free education, healthcare and housing. The new constitution also would have established autonomous Indigenous territories.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
