Towards an independent New Caledonia? We explain this new referendum organized on Sunday – LaDepeche.fr

For the third time in three years, voters in New Caledonia will have to vote on the independence of their island. This piece of land 400 km long and 60 km wide for the main island, located 24 hours by plane from Paris, should it remain French or take its autonomy?

• What question will voters answer?

The 185,004 Caledonian voters will have to vote on the independence and full sovereignty of their territory. They will have to answer the following question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?”

The separatists had asked for a postponement of the poll because of the impossibility of “leading a fair campaign” because of the Covid-19. The government refused. The FLKNS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) has therefore chosen to call on its activists not to vote this Sunday.

With this call from the separatists not to vote, the result is decided in advance. They have already announced that they will reject the result at the UN.

• What were the results of the first referendums?

A first referendum organized on November 4, 2018 saw the no win with 56.67% of the vote (43.33% for the yes). Two years later, on October 4, 2020, a second referendum was held. The no to independence is still in the majority with 53.26% of the votes (46.74% for the yes). Voters will vote again this Sunday for the third and last time at the request of the political groups UNI, UC-FLNKS and the Nationalists.

• Why have several referendums taken place?

These votes are the implementation of the Matignon-Oudinot agreements signed in 1988 by the government of Michel Rocard to end a period of unrest in New Caledonia. They provided for a ten-year period of economic, social and institutional development before a self-determination referendum in 1998.

In 1998, the government of Lionel Jospin signed the Nouméa Accord. In particular, it provides for new institutions and a gradual transfer of skills. The State and the Caledonian political parties then gave themselves twenty years to organize a referendum to consolidate the process of decolonization of New Caledonia.

The Noumea agreement provides that in the event of rejection of the independence of New Caledonia, a new referendum can be organized if a third of the members of the congress formulate the request. A maximum of three votes are included in the agreement.

• What is the atmosphere surrounding the vote?

The authorities have planned a major security system. 2000 gendarmes, police and soldiers will be mobilized on the territory. The president of the Customary Senate, an institution that embodies traditional Kanak power, called for calm “so that there is no disturbance,” said Yvon Kona.

• What will happen after the vote?

Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu arrived in Nouméa on Friday to prepare for the post-vote. The FLKNS and the Nationalists have already warned that they will refuse any meeting or discussion before the next presidential election. Emmanuel Macron had indicated Thursday that, “whatever the choice, there will be a life together” with France. At the end of the vote, an 18-month transition period (by June 30, 2023) will have to open between New Caledonia and France. The French state will be bound by a constitutional obligation to open a political negotiation. The Noumea agreement provides that “if the answer is still negative, the political partners will meet to examine the situation thus created”. A very vague wording.