SANTIAGO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday said his government will promote citizen participation in an upcoming plebiscite on whether or not to draft a new Constitution.
"I want to assure all of my compatriots that the government will provide total safeguards for all sides. It will promote the participation of our citizens and it will watch to ensure that they can all vote freely and peacefully," Pinera said at a public event.
The plebiscite has been set for April 26 as part of a series of measures taken by Pinera's administration following months of sometimes violent anti-government protests against inequality and lack of adequate public services.
Chile's existing Constitution, which dates from the military regime of Augusto Pinochet, has been blamed for the country's current woes.
In other countries, the Constitution serves as "the great framework for unity, stability and projection that allows those countries to process their differences, and provides certainty and stability ... In our country, the Constitution has for a long time not been that great framework of unity, but a point of controversy," said Pinera.
