Chile postpones constitutional referendum to October

Chile’s Congress has voted to postpone the planned constitutional referendum until October 25 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Senate speaker Adriana Muñoz (pictured) was quoted by local media as saying the leaders of the country’s main political parties had agreed on the need to postpone the referendum, seen as key to ending the country’s months-long social crisis.

Protests since October have called for an end to social inequality and resulted in the deaths of thousands of protesters as well as multi-million-dollar damages to properties and businesses. 

Chilean schools were suspended this week, the country’s borders have been cclosed and gatherings of more than 50 people have been banned as cases of coronavirus entered triple figures.

The constitutional referendum had been scheduled to take place on April 26.