Chileans began the long process of writing a new constitution on Monday following a landslide vote in favor of the project by citizens who want the unabashedly capitalist country's principles to enshrine greater equality in healthcare, pensions and education.

In a referendum on Sunday, 78 percent of voters backed constitutional overhaul, a stinging rebuke of the constitution dating from the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Basically, the vote was a central demand of mass protests over inequality in late 2019.

More than 7.5 million of 14.97 million eligible Chileans voted in the referendum, the electoral authority said, the largest turnout since Chile adopted voluntary voting in 2012.

Four-fifths of voters said they wanted the new charter to be drafted by a specially elected body of citizens – made up of half women and half men – over a mixed convention of lawmakers and citizens, highlighting general mistrust in Chile's political class.

The new constitution itself is still a long way from fruition, however.

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera pledged the referendum in a bid to quell mass protests that broke out in 2019 against the country's neoliberal economic policies.

"Citizens and democracy have triumphed," Pinera said, following the early results. "This plebiscite is not the end, it is the beginning of a path that we must all walk together to agree on a new constitution for Chile," he added. 

"Until now, the constitution has divided us. From today we must all work together so that the new constitution is the great framework of unity, stability and future."

The 155-seat convention of citizens will be elected in April and have up to a year to agree to a draft text, with proposals approved by a two-thirds majority. Chileans will then vote again on whether they accept the text or want to revert to the previous constitution.

Among issues likely to be at the fore of debate are recognition of Chile's Mapuche indigenous population, powers of collective bargaining, water and land rights and privatized systems providing healthcare, education and pensions.

The poll was set for April this year but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With input from agencies)