2021 New Caledonian independence referendum

2021 New Caledonian independence referendum

← 2020 12 December 2021
Location	New Caledonia

Politics of New Caledonia
High Commissioner President of the Government Vice President of the Government Isabelle Champmoreau Congress President of Congress Roch Wamytan Political parties Elections: 2009, 2014, 2019 Referendums: 1987, 2018, 2020 Matignon Agreements Nouméa Accord
Other countries
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An independence referendum will be held in New Caledonia on 12 December 2021. The poll will be the third and final to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following votes in 2018 and 2020, in which independence was rejected by 56.7% and 53.3% respectively.

Background[]

New Caledonia was formally annexed by France in 1853, and Europeans and Polynesians, as well as other settlers, have since made the indigenous Kanaks a minority (27%, 11% and 39% respectively in the 2014 census^[1]). The territory was used as a penal colony from 1864 to 1897, and the Kanaks were excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations. Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between the French government and the independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder (culminating in the Ouvéa cave hostage taking in 1988), with the emerging Kanak independence movement gaining support from many Kanaks frustrated with their lower socio-economic status and lack of involvement in the economy, seen as problems caused by the French exploitation. Though GDP per capita (nominal) is high at $38,921 and though New Caledonia is a major producer of nickel, there is significant inequality in income distribution, with many claiming that the mining revenue benefits people outside the territory and its (declining) mining communities.^[2]

Since 1986, the United Nations Committee on Decolonization has included New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.^[3] The 1987 New Caledonia independence referendum, the first referendum on independence, was held the following year on 13 September 1987, but independence was rejected by a large majority, with 842 people (1.7%) voting for independence and 48,611 people (98.3%) voting to remain a part of France. Many pro-independence groups, such as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), boycotted the vote.^[4]

The Matignon Agreements, signed on 26 June 1988 by Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur, set up a ten-year period of stability and made certain provisions for the Kanak population. The Nouméa Accord, signed 5 May 1998 by the French government and the main independence and anti-independence parties, set in motion a 20-year transition period that transferred certain powers to the local government and laid the groundwork for an independence referendum in 2018.^[5]

In accordance with the Nouméa Accord, New Caledonians are allowed up to three referendums on independence; the first in 2018, then two more in 2020 and 2022 if the previous ones had not resulted in independence, but one-third of members of the Congress of New Caledonia voted for another one.^[6] The first was held in November 2018, with voters rejecting independence by 56.7 percent.

In 2019 members of the Caledonian Union, Future with Confidence, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and the National Union for Independence requested another referendum be held.^[7] This was held in 2020, with a narrower margin of victory for the anti-independence side.

Following a formal request by 26 members of the Congress, in April 2021 the French government agreed to another vote being held by October 2022.^[8]

Franchise[]

The referendum will be held using a special electoral roll. Potential voters will need to be registered on the general electoral roll, and also meet one of the secondary criteria:^[9]

1. Was on the electoral roll for the 1998 referendum on the Nouméa Accord;
2. Qualified to be on the electoral roll for the 1998 referendum, but were not enrolled;
3. Failed to meet the requirements to be on the 1998 electoral roll solely due to absence related to family, medical or professional reasons;
4. Having civil customary status, or born in New Caledonia and have their material interests in the territory;
5. At least one parent born in New Caledonia and have their material interests in the territory;
6. At least 20 years of continuous residence in New Caledonia by 31 December 2014;
7. Born before 1 January 1989 and have had their residence in New Caledonia between 1988 and 1998
8. Born after 31 December 1988 and reached voting age before the referendum, with at least one parent who was on the electoral roll (or qualified to do so) for the 1998 referendum.

As a consequence of these restrictions, in the 2018 referendum 35,948 registered voters on the general list (17% of the 210,105 total registered voters) were excluded from the vote.^[10][11][12] Vote restriction restricts the voting power of recent inhabitants—derogatively known as Zoreilles—and enlarges the voting power of native Kanaks, and was long sought after by FLNKS.^[10]

See also[]

• 2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum
• 2022 Chuukese independence referendum
• Decolonisation of Oceania

References[]