The French overseas department of New Caledonia ended 2018 with a new referendum on independence, with 53.26% of the vote in favor of remaining in the French family. Previous French agreements for New Caledonia provided for an unlimited number of referendums to determine the island’s status. Analysts fear that the push for independence has progressed this time around, with the last referendum, which voted 56.4% in favor of remaining in France.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the independence referendum in the French overseas department of New Caledonia, which ended on October 4, and expressed his deep gratitude to the people of New Caledonia, who once again chose France. However, according to Agence France-Presse, the separatists made clear progress in the second referendum on New Caledonia’s independence. New Caledonia, a strategic French overseas archipelago with 270,000 inhabitants in the South Pacific, won 53.26% of the vote this past Sunday by pro-French voters.
The commentary points to France’s annual financial aid of 1.5 billion euros, which plays an important role in guaranteeing the island’s stability.
According to the Nouméa Accord between the French central government and New Caledonia, a new referendum on independence will be held in New Caledonia. The timing, as allowed by law, is six months after the local elections. The condition remains that a referendum on the issue should be held at the request of the 18 members of Congress. New Caledonia’s new Congress will be renewed after the April 2021 elections, with a total of 54 seats.
However, French officials want to change the status quo and are pushing for the end of the Nouméa Accord. This agreement, however, could end at the end of 2022. If there is another referendum in April 2021, it will be the last one.
Earlier, the government of former French Prime Minister Philippe Phillipe held consultations on the timing of the referendum in New Caledonia and the French electoral calendar.
Nearly 180,000 voters turned out to cast their ballots in the referendum. The number of inhabitants of the island is 270,000. To ensure a transparent and fair vote, the United Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum, among others, sent independent delegations to observe and scrutinize the election.
According to reports, most New Caledonian voters were proud to be part of the French family.
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