In the May 7 Constitutional Council election, the Republican Party took the top spot, with Unidad para Chile in second place. And Chile Seguro in third place.
The far right Republican Party came in first with 35 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. The Unidad para Chile coalition had 29 percent, and the Chile Seguro coalition got 21 percent of the vote. Independent candidates had the least votes.
The government political parties of the coalition Unidad para Chile, which consisted of Convergencia Social, Revolución Democrática, Comunes, Federación Regionalista Verde Social, Partido Socialista, Partido Comunista, Partido Liberal, and Acción Humanista, did not come out strong. And traditional right wing parties under the Chile Seguro coalition, Renovación Nacional, Unión Demócrata Independiente and Evolución Política, lost votes to the far right Republican Party.
The political center coalition Todo Por Chile, which consisted of Demócrata Cristiano, Partido por la Democracia, and Partido Radical, trailed behind in the election race with nine percent of the vote.
About 17 percent of the votes were annulled, which means voters refused to vote for any party and saw the process as illegitimate.
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An “Expert Commission” of 24 members elected by Congress will produce a preliminary draft by June 6. The Constitutional Council will then use the preliminary draft to write the final draft, which is due by November 6. And Chileans will head to the polls again on December 17 for a second chance on a new Constitution.
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Chongyang Zhang is pursuing an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s program in journalism, media and globalisation. His interest lies in the relations among the United States, Latin America and China. He is currently doing an exchange semester at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.