The low turnout rate in the New Caledonia independence referendum “seriously affected” the process of self-determination in French territory. Election observers from France Pacific Islands Forum I’ve said it.
In Sunday’s referendum, more than 96% of voters opposed independence France, Compared to 57% and 53% in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
However, After Kanak leaders called for a boycott, the turnout rate of qualified voters was only 43.9%They have called on France to postpone voting until 2022, but they were unsuccessful. Traditional mourning period For the death of Covid-19.
The indigenous people of the archipelago-40% of the total population and more likely to vote for independence-are disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Of the approximately 280 Covid deaths in the region, more than 60% occurred in Kanak and other Pacific Islander communities.
Pro-independence groups said they did not recognize the legality of Sunday’s vote, which was the third and final referendum held in accordance with the 1998 Nouméa Agreement, a peace agreement aimed at ending a decade of violence.
Election observers for the Pacific Islands Forum, a major intergovernmental organization in the region, said that a large portion of voters, mainly independent supporters, did not vote. This position was made public before the referendum.
The organization said in a statement: “The spirit of the referendum has seriously affected the Nouméa Agreement and the self-determination process in New Caledonia.”
“Citizen participation is an integral part of any democracy, and it is critical to the interpretation and influence of Sunday’s opinion polls.”
The observers who are preparing the election report are led by Fiji Foreign Minister Ratu Enoch Kububola, and Forum Secretary-General Henry Pune also traveled to New Caledonia.
The team met with Roch Vamitan, the chairman of the New Caledonia Congress, and he went to New York to raise concerns about the referendum held at the United Nations on Thursday, and then went to France.
The result was also questioned by the Melanesian Vanguard Group-an intergovernmental organization composed of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Kanak and the National Liberation Front for Socialism of New Caledonia (FLNKS). MSG wrote on Twitter: “We firmly support the call of the Kanaki people’s “non-participation” leading to the Kanaki people’s “non-participation” and for the United Nations to declare the results of the third referendum invalid. Voters’ turnout rate is lower than that of registered voters. 50%, so it cannot be regarded as the legitimate wish of the silent majority!”
New Caledonia is one of France’s five island territories in the Indo-Pacific region and is the core of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to increase France’s influence in the Pacific. The nickel-rich territory is 20,000 kilometers from France, and the population includes 41% of Melanesians (mainly Kanak) and 24% of European ancestry (mainly French).
