A constitutional referendum was held in Chile on 17 December 2023 to decide whether to adopt a new constitution to replace the 1980 Constitution, which was drafted under the Pinochet dictatorship. The text was based on a preliminary draft written by a commission of 24 experts appointed by Congress and was then amended by an elected Constitutional Council, in which right-wing parties held a large majority. Voting was compulsory.
Voters rejected the proposal, with 55.76% voting "Against" and 44.24% "In favor" among valid votes, on a turnout of 84.48%. The draft had been described as conservative and market-friendly, with strict rules on immigration and abortion. It was the second proposed constitution to be rejected in a referendum in 15 months, after a progressive draft written by an elected Constitutional Convention was rejected in September 2022. President Gabriel Boric announced that his government would not pursue a third attempt, so the 1980 Constitution, as amended, remains in force.
Background
On 4 September 2022, a national plebiscite, best known as the "exit plebiscite", was held to decide whether voters agreed with the new Political Constitution of the Republic drafted by the Constitutional Convention earlier that year. The proposed constitution, which had faced "intense criticism that it was too long, too left-wing and too radical", was rejected by 62% to 38%. It was considered one of the world's most progressive constitutions, but many voters found it too polarizing, and controversies mired the process. The 1980 Constitution therefore remained in effect.
Agreement for Chile Lawmakers announced the "Agreement for Chile" on 12 December 2022 as a second attempt to draft a new constitution under different rules. Under the agreement, 50 directly elected constitutional councilors would amend a preliminary draft prepared by a commission of 24 experts appointed by Congress. A 14-member body appointed by Congress would ensure that the text conformed to 12 institutional and fundamental principles set out in the agreement.
The Republican Party and the Party of the People did not take part in the agreement, though both agreed to participate in the elections. Congress approved the constitutional reform enabling the new process in January 2023.
The new rules differed from those of the earlier convention in several ways. The Council needed a three-fifths majority to approve articles, rather than the two-thirds required in the Convention. The number of seats reserved for Indigenous representatives was no longer fixed in advance and instead depended on the Indigenous vote. The expert commission was to work from 6 March to 6 June 2023, the Council was to begin its work after its election, and the referendum was scheduled for 17 December 2023.
Drafting of the constitution
Expert Commission The Expert Commission () was a 24-member body, appointed by Congress, whose task was to prepare a preliminary draft to serve as the starting point for the Constitutional Council. It was inaugurated on 6 March 2023 at the former National Congress building in Santiago. The opening session was provisionally chaired by Hernán Larraín, a member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), and the commissioners then unanimously chose Verónica Undurraga, nominated by the Party for Democracy, as president and Sebastián Soto, nominated by Evópoli, as vice president. The commission had three months to produce a draft, which it then handed to the Council. Once the Council was installed, the experts could attend its sessions and speak but not vote.
Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council was elected on 7 May 2023 in the same manner as the Senate of Chile, using multi-member proportional representation (D'Hondt method) with open lists in constituencies of between two and five seats corresponding to the regions. Additional seats were reserved for Indigenous peoples, allocated according to their share of the vote rather than fixed in advance for each ethnic group. Gender parity was required: party lists alternated male and female candidates (Zipper system), with adjustments if the result produced an imbalance, so that the final body had 25 men and 25 women.
Right-wing parties, which had opposed major changes to the constitution, won more than the three-fifths majority needed to approve articles without the support of the left. This was a sharp shift from the left-wing majority in the Convention that wrote the rejected 2022 draft, and it reflected disillusionment with President Boric, whose approval rating stood at under 35%. The Republican Party, described as far-right, became the leading force with 34% of the vote, enough seats to block amendments on its own. Boric's left-wing coalition won about 28% of the vote and 16 seats, a separate coalition of traditional right-wing parties took more than 21% and 11 seats, and one seat went to the Indigenous list. Centrist parties took the remainder of the vote but won no seats.
The Council was installed on 7 June 2023 and had five months to deliver a draft, with a deadline of 7 November. It began debating amendments to the experts' draft on 14 August, with more than a thousand proposed changes. These included proposals from the far right to prohibit abortion in the three circumstances then permitted by law and to limit the right to strike.
On 30 October 2023 the Council approved the final text by 33 votes to 17. The result was widely expected, since the 11 councilors from Chile Vamos and 22 from the Republican Party were enough to clear the three-fifths threshold of 30 votes. Council president Beatriz Hevia of the Republican Party delivered the document to Boric on 7 November, and Boric formally called the referendum. The text had 17 chapters and 216 articles.
Contents The proposed document was described as "conservative" and "market-friendly", with "strict rules around immigration and abortion", and its content was largely credited to the efforts of the Republican Party.
Article 1 defined Chile as a social and democratic state governed by the rule of law, a departure from the minimalist wording of the 1980 text that it shared with the rejected 2022 draft. According to analysts, other provisions weakened the state's responsibility to provide social services, strengthened the presidency, created new oversight bodies, curbed the right to strike and allowed the expulsion of undocumented migrants. Unlike the 2022 draft, the text did not mention Indigenous peoples. One provision ordered the expulsion "in the shortest time possible" of foreigners who entered the country clandestinely or through unauthorized crossings.
The most contested provisions concerned abortion and conscientious objection. The draft provided that the law protects the life of the unborn, which critics said could allow the repeal of the law, in force since 2017, permitting abortion in cases of rape, a nonviable fetus or a threat to the mother's life. It also established an individual and institutional right to conscientious objection, which progressives said could be invoked on religious grounds against educational standards, non-discrimination laws and reproductive care.
Referendum Date and format
Congress fixed the exit plebiscite for Sunday 17 December 2023. Under article 159 of the 1980 Constitution, as amended, the ballot carried a single question, "¿Está usted a favor o en contra del texto de Nueva Constitución?" ("Are you in favor or against the text of the new constitution?"), with two boxes labeled "A favor" and "En contra". Voting was compulsory, and the vote came after about ten elections of various types in under two and a half years.
Campaign
The official campaign ran from 7 November to 14 December 2023. Boric's government said it would stay neutral in the debate, although several government allies had already announced their opposition to the text. It ran an informational campaign led by government spokeswoman Camila Vallejo.
On 10 November the National Television Council published the allocation of free airtime for the electoral broadcasts (franja electoral). They aired from 17 November to 14 December in two 15-minute blocks each day, at 12:45 and 20:45. Each of the two main campaign groups received about five and a half minutes per broadcast: "Ciudadanos a favor de Chile" (Republican Party, National Renewal, UDI and Evópoli) for the "In favor" side and "Chile en contra" (ten parties from the PPD to the Communist Party) for the "Against" side. The Party of the People, the Christian Democratic Party and several smaller parties and groupings received shorter slots. A Cadem poll found that 51% of respondents had watched the broadcasts, 14 points fewer than for the 2022 plebiscite.
Party positions ChoicePartiesPolitical orientationLeaderRef In favor Chile Vamos (ChV)Liberal conservatism— Independent Democratic Union (UDI)ConservatismJavier Macaya National Renewal (RN)ConservatismRodrigo Galilea Political Evolution (Evópoli)Classical liberalismGloria Hutt Republican Party (PLR)National conservatismArturo Squella Amarillos por Chile (AxCh)ConcertacionismAndrés Jouannet Democrats (D)Christian humanismXimena Rincón Party of the People (PDG)PopulismFranco Parisi Common Sense (SC)RegionalismRodrigo Caramori Donoso Against Democratic Socialism (SD)Social democracy— Socialist Party of Chile (PS)Social democracyPaulina Vodanovic Party for Democracy (PPD)ProgressivismJaime Quintana Radical Party of Chile (PR)Social liberalismLeonardo Cubillos Liberal Party of Chile (PL)Social liberalismJuan Carlos Urzúa Broad Front (FA)ProgressivismGabriel Boric Social Convergence (CS)Libertarian socialismDiego Ibáñez Democratic Revolution (RD)Democratic socialismDiego Vela CommonsAutonomismMarco Velarde Chile Digno (ChD)Democratic socialism— Communist Party of Chile (PCCh)CommunismLautaro Carmona Social Green Regionalist Federation (FREVS)RegionalismFlavia Torrealba Diaz Humanist Action (AH)HumanismTomás Hirsch Christian Democratic Party (PDC)Christian democracyAlberto Undurraga Humanist Party of Chile (PH)Universal humanismClaudio Ojeda Murillo Equality Party (PI)Left-wing populismIván Carrasco Progressive Homeland (PP)ProgressivismMarco Enríquez-Ominami People's Party (Popular)Left-wing nationalismCristián Cuevas Popular Green Alliance Party (PAVP)Animal welfareCarlos Pichuante Verdugo Both Christian Social Party (PSC)Religious conservatismSara Concha
Several parties were divided. The Christian Social Party announced in August 2023 that it would oppose the text, but on 7 November it granted its members freedom of action and registered with both campaigns for the allocation of broadcast time. Dissenting factions backed the "Against" side within the Republican Party, the Party of the People (whose deputies broke with leader Franco Parisi), Amarillos por Chile, whose founder said she would vote "Against", and Democrats, where deputy Saffirio announced his opposition. A group of Radical Party members and supporters published a letter backing the "In favor" option, against their party's position.
Opinion polls Polls throughout 2023 consistently showed the "Against" option ahead, with a large share of undecided voters, except for one Cadem poll in May. Chilean law prohibits publishing electoral polls in the 15 days before the vote, so the last Cadem survey was released on 26 November. The table below lists selected polls in reverse chronological order, using the date fieldwork ended.