Chileans favored independents to draft a new constitution

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans favored left-leaning independent candidates in electing an assembly that will draft a new constitution, replacing the one imposed in the 1980s during the military dictatorship. In a major blow to the traditional political forces in Chile, official results released Monday showed the weekend voting for the 155-member constitutional assembly gave 48 seats to independent candidates, most of them identified with leftist ideology. The next biggest group was the governing center-right coalition, with 37 seats, and then the Communist Party with 28. Twenty-five seats went to another leftist coalition, and 17 were reserved for Indigenous people. The various groups will have limitations on getting their full goals into the new constitution, because a two-thirds agreement is required.