Constitutional Convention (Chile)

Constitutional Convention

Convención Constitucional
Type
Type
History
FoundedJuly 4, 2021 (2021-07-04)
DisbandedJuly 4, 2022 (2022-07-04)
Leadership
President
Elisa Loncón (July 2021–January 2022)
María Elisa Quinteros (January–July 2022)
since 15–16 May 2021
Vice-President
Jaime Bassa (July 2021–January 2022)
Gaspar Domínguez (January–July 2022)
Structure
Seats155 conventional constituents
Two-thirds for control (104)
Political groups
  Pueblo Constituyente
  Colectivo Socialista
  Apruebo Dignidad: Frente Amplio + Independientes
  Movimientos Sociales Constituyentes
  Apruebo Dignidad: Chile Digno
  Colectivo del Apruebo
  Independientes
AuthorityChapter XV of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980
Elections
Open list proportional representation (D'Hondt method) with gender parity and 17 seats reserved for indigenous peoples
Meeting place
Former National Congress Building, venue of the plenary sessions.
Pereira Palace, offices and administration.
Website
https://www.chileconvencion.cl/

The Constitutional Convention (Spanish: Convención Constitucional) was the constituent body of the Republic of Chile in charge of drafting a new Political Constitution of the Republic after the approval of the national plebiscite held in October 2020.[1] Its creation and regulation were carried out through Law No. 21,200, published on 24 December 2019, which amended the Political Constitution of the Republic to include the process of drafting a new constitution.[2] The body met for the first time on 4 July 2021. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera said, "This Constitutional Convention must, within a period of 9 months, extendable for an additional 3 months, draft and approve a new constitution for Chile, which must be ratified by the citizens through a plebiscite."[3] It ended its functions and declared itself dissolved on 4 July 2022.

The proposed constitution, which had faced "intense criticism that it was too long, too left-leaning and too radical",[4] was rejected by a margin of 62% to 38% in the 2022 Chilean national plebiscite.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Constitución Política de la República de Chile". LeyChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Diario Oficial publicó reforma a la Constitución que da inicio al proceso constituyente". Cooperativa (in Spanish). 24 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Presidente Piñera convoca para el 4 de julio la primera sesión de la Convención Constitucional: Fecha coincidirá con los 210 años de la instalación del Primer Congreso Nacional". La Tercera (in Spanish). 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  4. ^ Schmidt, Samantha (4 September 2022). "Chilean voters decisively reject leftist constitution". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "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.