MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: Crucial electoral year to rewrite a new constitution takes off

Chileans voted overwhelmingly in October to rewrite the constitution, which had been one of the key demands from protesters who rose up in October 2019

The Chilean Electoral Service registered 2,223 hopeful candidates for selection to the commission that will rewrite Chile's dictatorship-era constitution. The 14 million Chilean eligible are scheduled to elect on April 11 the 155 members of the Constituent Assembly that will rewrite the constitution, which dates from the rule of military dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-90).

Of the 2,223 candidates so far, 177 are indigenous people, who are competing for the 17 places reserved for their communities. Indigenous people make up 12.8 percent of Chile's 18 million population.

Chileans voted overwhelmingly in October to rewrite the constitution, which had been one of the key demands from protesters who rose up in October 2019 to lead months of protests against social inequality.

A previous law passed by Congress deemed that the commission must be equally split between men and women. It's a crucial year for Chileans who will return to the voting urns on November 21 to elect a successor to President Sebastian Pinera, who cannot stand for re-election.