Chilean Plebiscite of 1988
Voters rejected Pinochet 56 to 44 percent, ending dictatorship through the ballot.
Overview
The October 5, 1988 yes-or-no plebiscite, written into the 1980 constitution, asked Chileans for eight more years of Augusto Pinochet's rule. The NO campaign's rainbow jaunty advertising against fear, with near-total registration and turnout around 97 percent of registered voters, delivered 55.99 percent NO to 44.01 percent YES. Pinochet, pressured by the visible result and international observation, accepted, leading to open presidential elections in 1989 and the 1990 democratic transition. The plebiscite remains the model of a dictatorship defeated at its own ballot box.
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