Chilean president authorizes referendum to replace constitution
Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2020, 02:46 AM - Edit history (1)
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera signed a decree Friday to hold a referendum regarding the possible replacement of the country's constitution, enacted by the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship in 1980.
The president held a press conference in which he explained that the decree invites Chile's 14.4 million registered voters to participate in the constitutional plebiscite set to take place on April 26.
He incorporated the agreement with the opposition amid ongoing anti-government protests. At least 29 Chilean demonstrators have been killed since the recent wave of protests over rising prices and low living standards began on October 19.
Some 300 protesters have reportedly lost an eye in what has been denounced as a deliberate policy on the part of the Carabineros miltarized police to aim for the eyes.
The April 26 referendum will give voters a choice between a "mixed convention," made up equally from members of congress and elected citizens; or a "constituent convention," composed of people chosen solely for that purpose.
If the plebiscite is approved, the election of constituents will take place in October to coincide with regional and municipal elections. And the new Constitution - to be drafted no later than a year from that date - will be ratified in another plebiscite, with a mandatory vote.
According to the latest Cadem survey, 86% of Chileans are in favor of a new constitution - with 61% supporting a constituent convention and 36% a mixed convention.
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telam.com.ar%2Fnotas%2F201912%2F419865-chile-plebiscito-constitucional-abril.html
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announces the April 26 referendum on the possible replacement of the country's dictatorship-era constitution.
The referendum will be the first step in promulgating a new constitution, which may be enacted as early as October 2021.
Activists, many of whom have been protesting since October for fundamental changes in the prosperous but highly unequal nation of 19 million, are seeking greater social guarantees in the new constitution.
