Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 5, (dpa/GNA) - Chileans overwhelmingly rejected a new progressive constitution this weekend, results published by the electoral authorities on Monday showed.
A total of 61.9% of the electorate voted against, with only 38.1% in favour.
The latest surveys had indicated that the progressive draft could be rejected, but the strength of the opposing vote was a surprise nonetheless.
The new constitution would have fundamentally changed the South American country. Its current constitution dates back to the military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).
A constitutional committee had been working on rewriting the country’s constitution for a year. The new proposals would have guaranteed the right to living space, health, and education, and the right to self-determination for indigenous communities of Chile.
It would also have mandated that half of all government positions are filled by women.
After protests erupted across the country in 2019, with more than a million people taking to the streets on some occasions, support for a new constitution polled at nearly 80%.
However, the progressive proposals possibly went too far for conservative Chilean society. Furthermore, the government suffered in the polls after attacks by indigenous radicals in the south of the country, which also may have contributed to the defeat.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric had prepared for the possibility of defeat. He invited all political parties to the presidential palace on Monday to evaluate how to go forward with the constitutional process, Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported.
GNA