On December 17, 2023, a new constitutional plebiscite was held in Chile, where voters were given the option to approve or reject a new Constitution draft prepared by the Constitutional Council. With 55.76% of votes against and 44.24% in favor, the proposal was rejected. Consequently, the current Constitution remains in force.

Plebiscite outcome and its implications

On December 17, 2023, a new constitutional plebiscite was held in Chile, where voters were given the option to approve or reject a new Constitution draft prepared by the Constitutional Council.

Having 99,86% of the votes counted and with a turnout of 84.44% of the electoral roll, the results were as follows: (i) 55.76% of Chileans voted against the constitutional proposal, while (ii) 44.24% voted in favor. This result means that the constitutional proposal was rejected and therefore, the current Constitution is still in force. 

In this regard, it should be remembered that this is the second time that a new Constitution draft is proposed to the citizens and is subsequently rejected by the voters. On September 4, 2022, 61.98% of the voters rejected the constitutional project prepared by the Constitutional Convention organized for this purpose.

On this subject, once the result of last Sunday´s vote was known, the President of Chile, Mr. Gabriel Boric Font, confirmed to the press that during his term in office, he will not present initiatives aimed at drafting a new Constitution. The President declared “I want to be clear:during our mandate, the Constitutional process is closed, the urgencies are others ¹.”. ¹” .  

Despite of the above, it is necessary to recall that through the Law N°21.481 of August 2022, the current Constitution was modified by lowering the quorums to reform it to 4/7 of the representatives and senators in office. Therefore, Congress could modify the Constitution if the quorum needed for that purpose is reached.

https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2023/12/17/1116049/boric-proceso-constituyente.html