Chile Constitution: Far-Right Party Holds Majority In New Assembly

In an election to choose the members of the body tasked with drafting Chile's new constitution, the far-right Republican party came in first place.

Right-wing parties also picked up 11 seats, giving the Republican party a total of 22 of the 51 seats.

A new constitution is to be drafted by the constitutional assembly to replace the one that Gen. Augusto Pinochet's military government enacted.

In a referendum last year, a document created by an earlier parliament was defeated.

Progressives had predominated the first assembly, and many Chileans thought their ideas were too radical, BBC reported.

Many of the institutions of the nation would have been altered by the proposed constitution, such as the Senate being replaced by a Chamber of Regions.

Additionally, it would have recognized Chile's indigenous communities, who make up around 13% of the population, as having a right to their lands and resources by designating Chile a "plurinational state" and declaring them to have those rights.

The unsuccessful measure also contained better social benefits and environmental rights and was supported by the left-leaning President Gabriel Boric.

It would have been one of the most forward-thinking constitutions in the world if it had been approved.

However, it was defeated by 62% of voters in September 2022, which led to the election for a new assembly on Sunday.

There were 50 seats available, one of which was set aside for an indigenous Chilean delegate.

José Antonio Kast's Republican Party received more than 35% of the vote, winning 22 seats.

After receiving 21% of the vote, the conservative alliance Chile Seguro (Safe Chile) will be represented by 11 people.

With only 17 seats won, the left-wing Unidad para Chile (Unity for Chile) was unable to get the necessary 21 to exercise its veto power.

José Antonio Kast, the leader of the far-right Republican Party, claimed that the win of his party was evidence that "the ideas of common sense have triumphed."

The main winner in Sunday's poll is Kast, who lost to Gabriel Boric in the 2021 presidential race.

From the beginning, his party has been hostile to amending the present Pinochet-era constitution.

According to analysts, the new body will now have a difficult time balancing the views of its conservative majority with the demands for change that first led to the process.

Chile, which is typically seen as a haven of peace in the region, was severely disrupted by large-scale protests in 2019, which sparked a movement for a new constitution.

With five months to create a new constitution based on a model created by experts, the new constitution will begin its work in June.

Voters will be asked to approve the final language in a referendum that will take place in December.