2023 Chilean Constitutional Council election
An election for the members of the Constitutional Council is scheduled to be held in Chile on 7 May 2023.[1][2] A multiparty agreement was made which is yet to be ratified in congress and senate, where the convention's members will be elected in a mandatory vote in April 2023, and must be equal numbers of men and women.[3]
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50 seats in the Chilean Constitutional Council | |||||||||||||||
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Background
The 2022 Chilean national plebiscite was held on 4 September 2022,[4] in order to determine whether the public agreed with the text of a new Political Constitution of the Republic drawn up by the Constitutional Convention. It was commonly referred to as the "exit plebiscite" (plebiscito de salida).[5][6]
The proposed constitution, which had faced "intense criticism that it was too long, too left-wing and too radical",[7] was rejected by a margin of 62% to 38%.[8][9]
Boric announced a new process for drafting a new constitution, with Al Jazeera writing, "Most Chileans and their politicians have agreed the constitution that dates from the dictatorship must change." Boric called on the heads of all political parties for a meeting on Monday, 5 September, to chart a path forward.[10] As a result of the rejection, the incumbent 1980 Constitution will remain in force, with The Guardian writing that "Chile's future looks decidedly uncertain," and that, "Boric has expressed a willingness to repeat the constitutional process, but the basis for reform is still very much up for debate."[11] Colombian president Gustavo Petro lamented the win of the rejection vote, considering that Chile had decided to "revive Augusto Pinochet".[12]
The Economist considered that "common sense" had led Chileans to reject the proposed constitution, it also called the result a "blow" for the government of Gabriel Boric.[13]
In the aftermath of the plebiscite the internal division that the Christian Democratic Party's official support for the "Approve" option had created resurfaced, with various calls for a renewed leadership, and some calling for the explusion of members who had supported the "Reject" option.[14]
Agreement for Chile
Chilean lawmakers announced in December 2022 an agreement to begin drafting a new constitution, three months after a referendum overwhelmingly rejected a progressive first text to replace the 1980 constitution. It was named Agreement for Chile. It would be submitted for referendum in November or December in 2023, with mandatory public participation. It comes after Chileans voted in September 2022 voted against the proposal of a left-wing constitution, leading to President Gabriel Boric reshuffling his cabinet.[2]
Senate President Alvaro Elizalde, announced; "Today a new path has opened to progress towards a Constitution born from democracy." Under this agreement, the advisors would be elected in April and the half of the experts would be appointed by parliamentary deputies and the other half by senators. The agreement also proposed a parity between men and women, participation from indigenous peoples and that the proposals would need to be approved by three-fifths of the advisors. Unlike the previous convention, there will be no quota of seats reserved for Indigenous peoples. The agreement would see the new constitution drafted over next year by a body of 50 so-called constitutional advisors elected by direct vote, based on a preliminary draft prepared by a commission of 24 experts. As per the agreement, an expert commission will also be formed, its 24 members to be chosen by Congress on behalf of the different pro-government and opposition groups.
The expert will work on a first draft from 6 March to 6 June. The Constitutional Council will then begin its work thirty days after its election, on 6 June 2023 and must deliver the draft Constitution five months later by 6 November. A mandatory referendum will then be held on 17 December 2023.[15]
Although an bipartisan agreement was made for a new constitution, it is yet to be ratified in the congress and senate.[3] The Republican Party and the Party of the People did not participate in the agreement.[3]
Contesting parties and coalitions
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Opinion polls
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | UxCh | TxCh | Dem | AxCh | PDG | ChS | PLR | Ind. | Undecided | Lead | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD | SD | DC | |||||||||||||
| PCCh | FA | PS | PPD | ||||||||||||
| Activa | 23–27 Jan 2023 | 870 | 14.1 | 7.4 | – | – | 9.4 | 8.3 | 8.2 | – | 52.6 | 4.7 | |||
| 20.3 | – | – | 11.8 | 10.4 | 7.5 | – | 50.0 | 8.5 | |||||||
| 22.8 | – | – | 12.6 | 15.0 | – | 49.6 | 7.8 | ||||||||
| Cadem | 14–16 Dec 2022 | 707 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 35 | 2 | |
| Cadem | 16–18 Nov 2022 | 702 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | 4 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 30 | 1 | |
| Cadem | 2–4 Nov 2022 | 708 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | – | 8 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 1 | |
Notes
- Results for Apruebo Dignidad (18.74%, 28 seats), PS (4.84%, 15 seats) and PPD (2.58%, 3 seats) in the 2021 election.
References
- "Cámara despacha a ley reforma de nuevo proceso constituyente". Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados (in Spanish). 11 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- "Chilean lawmakers reach agreement to start work on new constitution". Reuters. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- "Chilean Political Parties Agree to Have Another Go at Rewriting Constitution". Bloomberg.com. 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- Fuentes, Cristóbal (2022-04-05). "Ya hay fecha: plebiscito de salida para votar una nueva Constitución será el 4". La Tercera. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- Armaza, Christian (26 October 2020). "Plebiscito de salida: la instancia donde se aprobará o rechazará la nueva Constitución". El Día (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- "Plebiscito de Salida: cuándo es y por qué es urgente". chile.as.com. 13 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- Schmidt, Samantha (5 September 022). "Chilean voters decisively reject leftist constitution". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- "Plebiscito: Chile rechaza propuesta de nueva Constitución con histórica participación de más de 12 millones de personas". La Tercera. 4 September 2022. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- "Chile votes overwhelmingly to reject new, progressive constitution". The Guardian. 5 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- "Chile says emphatic no to proposed new constitution in referendum". Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- "Chile votes overwhelmingly to reject new, progressive constitution". TheGuardian.com. 5 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- Forbes Staff (5 September 2022). "'Revivió Pinochet': Petro tras la victoria del rechazo a la nueva constitución en Chile". Forbes Colombia. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- "Common sense prevails as Chileans reject a new constitution". The Economist. 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
- Muñoz, José; Saéz, Diego (2022-10-10). "Democracia Cristiana discute pasos a seguir para revertir crisis interna del partido". Radio Bío-Bío (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-01.
- Dispatch, Peoples (2023-01-15). "Chilean Congress approves bill to launch new constituent process". Peoples Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
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