Chile overwhelmingly rejects overhaul of dictatorship-era constitution
- Chileans overwhelmingly reject what would have been one of the world’s most progressive charters
- The constitution would have replaced a charter imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship 41 years ago
President Gabriel Boric vowed to continue working to reform the political landscape after Chileans emphatically rejected a proposed new constitution to replace the one adopted during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
With more than 99 per cent of votes counted, the reject camp led with almost 62 per cent compared to just over 38 percent for those in favour, in a result that exceeded the expectations of the conservative opposition.
Leftist Boric, who supported the new text, accepted the defeat but pledged to “do everything on my part to build a new constituent itinerary”.
He said the people had demonstrated “that they want and value democracy, they are counting on it to overcome our differences and to progress”.
He then called on “all political forces to put Chile ahead of any legitimate differences and agree as soon as possible on the deadlines and parameters for a new constitutional process.”
The result is a far greater margin of victory than was predicted by opinion polls, which had suggested the constitution would be rejected by up to 10 percentage points.