Chile has started to vote for the 155 delegates to the Constituent Assembly to rewrite the country's dictatorship-era constitution. It was part of efforts to address social inequality, which caused the 2019 protests.

About 14 million people were set to vote, marking Chile's most important election since it imposed democracy 31 years ago.

According to Aljazeera, Chile's Electoral Service said that more than three million people had already cast their ballot on Saturday. As of Sunday, independent candidates and leftist parties were reportedly in the lead.

With about over 50 percent of the vote counted, candidates aligned to leftist parties, and the rest that were independents got 33.19 percent of the votes, compared with 21.37 percent for candidates of the right, which is in power.

Chile's President Sebastian Piñera said he hopes to have a constitution that embraces the soul of their country.

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Chileans Voting

Maribel Mora Curriao said they are voting with pride, adding that they take it seriously as they know how unique the opportunity is. Curriao is a Mapuche poet who lives in the Chilean capital.

Chileans had already started voting on Saturday in a two-day election for local leaders such as mayors, governors, and councilors, according to another Aljazeera report.

Andres Tagle, president of the Electoral Service Board, said that everything is under control regarding the election. Tagle added that they will know and find out if ever there's a fraud attempt.

Chile's constitution was recorded way back from 1980 under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It is widely blamed for blocking progress in the country, which had the greatest number of inequalities among advanced economies.

The plebiscite was originally scheduled to take place in April 2020. However, it was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. It took place on October 25 last year.

Once the measure is passed, the Constitutional Convention will have nine months to write Chile's new constitution. It will then be submitted to voters in a plebiscite next year. Voting will then be mandated.

A political analyst said the low voting turnout was partly due to a lack of information and the ongoing pandemic. Election experts said that voter participation must reach the same level as last October's plebiscite when Chileans voted 78 percent in favor of rewriting the dictatorship-era Constitution.

Luna Follegati, a historian and feminist, highlighted the importance of having a voice in crafting the new constitution.

Pandemic in Chile

Chile has one of South America's highest vaccination rates, with over 48.5 percent of the 15.2 million population receiving the doses to date, according to a France 24 report.

In April, the number of daily cases in the country had reached a record-high 9,000 for the first time since the pandemic started.

Intensive units are overwhelmed, and Chile has lost its borders to everyone for the second time. Critics have claimed that Piñera's government is getting caught up in the triumph over the vaccine rollout and has loosened its COVID restrictions quickly.

Vaccination efforts in the country started in late December. Several frontline health workers, over 90 individuals, and teachers were the first group to receive the vaccination.

Dr. Susan Bueno, a professor of immunology from the Pontifical Catholic University, said several factors played at the recent surge, BBC News reported. Bueno noted that the new COVID-19 variants could be playing a huge impact on the surge.

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WATCH: Chile Votes for Body to Rewrite Dictatorship-Era Constitution - From FRANCE 24 English