Santiago, Chile.October 5, 1988..Counting of votes at the National Institute of Santiago for the plebiscite to determine if General Augusto Pinochet will remain in office...In 1988, General Augusto Pinochet ordered a plebiscite vote asking Chilean citizens whether he should continue in office. It produced a decisive "no" vote and the following year he lost the first presidential election in 19 years. However, under a constitution crafted by his advisors, he remained as army commander until 1998. Pinochet continued to wield enormous power until his arrest in London on human rights charges in October 1998.