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Constitutional Council in Chile Remains in the Center Right

  • Center Right representatives in Chile. May. 8, 2023.

    Center Right representatives in Chile. May. 8, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/@telesurenglish

Published 8 May 2023
Opinion

"...a major defeat for the center-left presidency of Gabriel Boric in Chile..."

On Sunday night, after Chileans cast ballots, the Right and Extreme Right in Chile obtained the majority of seats in dispute for the drafting of the new Chilean Constitution. Sectors and parties allied to Boric's government remain in a distant second place; the PC will lead that coalition.

Related:

Chilean Congress Approves Bill To Reduce Working Hours

The outcome of the recent vote can be characterized as a major defeat for the center-left presidency of Gabriel Boric in Chile. Additionally, this voting is widely perceived as a referendum on the current administration, which is currently experiencing an approval rating of approximately 30%. 

With 91% of polling stations having reported, the Republican Party, led by far-right José Antonio Kast, who previously lost the presidential runoff to Boric in 2021, has emerged as the front-runner with a 35% share of the total votes cast.

If the two right-of-center groups, the Republicans and Safe Chile Unite, it could leave Boric’s allies with very little room to influence the final text. The preliminary count indicated that left-leaning coalitions would be unable to attain the 21 seats needed to veto proposals or compel mutual agreement on specific matters.

Preliminary calculations pointed to the Republican Party ending up with approximately 22 representatives on the constitutional council, in contrast to Unity for Chile with 17 and Safe Chile with 11.

The Unity for Chile coalition, comprising leftist political parties that have allied with Boric, was in the second position in the electoral race, having garnered 28% of the vote. The Safe Chile coalition, identified as a center-right alliance, garnered 21% of the votes, positioning it in the third place. A significant proportion of 21% comprising null or blank votes was observed in the overall tallied votes.

The vote that took place on Sunday constitutes a significant milestone in the endeavor to formulate a novel proposal for a constitution, following the rejection of the prior projected charter by 62% of the electorate in September. Once installed, the commission's 50 members will not start from scratch, but rather work from a preliminary document drafted by 24 experts who were approved by Congress. The body's proposal is to be put before plebiscite in December.

The start of the Chilean constitution's rewriting process was initiated after the demonstrations led by students in 2019, triggered by the escalated public transport fare rates, but swiftly transformed into a more comprehensive call for wider social safeguards and greater equality.

The Congressional authorities effectively quelled the protests by initiating a referendum to determine the necessity of drafting a new constitution.

The overwhelming proportion of approximately 80% of participating voters concurred that a new constitution was indispensable.

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