A constitutional referendum was held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on 30 August 1925.Chile, 30. August 1925 : Verfassung
Direct Democracy Voters were offered a choice of two draft constitutions; one prepared by a subcommission and supported by President

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

, and another document prepared by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. The presidentialist version, supported by Alessandri, won an overwhelming victory and the resulting

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

provided a period of stability and a reduction in the power of the previous conservative oligarchy.

Proposals

The subcommission's draft provided for a presidential system in which the President is directly elected. The President would not be allowed to dissolve Congress, and could be removed from office by a majority vote in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

and a two-thirds majority in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Members of Congress would not be allowed to serve as government ministers, and the State Council would be abolished. Provincial Assemblies would be established, and church and state would be separated. The Congressional draft would have allowed the President to be removed from office by the vote of an absolute majority in both houses of Congress, and give Congress oversight over the state budget.

Electoral system

Voters cast a blue ballot for the subcommission draft, a red ballot for the Congressional draft, and a white ballot for neither. Invalid or blank votes could not be cast.

Results

Aftermath

Following the referendum,

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

were held on 24 October and Congressional elections on 22 November.

References

{{Chilean elections Referendums in Chile 1925 referendums

Referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Constitutional referendums in Chile August 1925 events