Residents of the Pacific territory of New Caledonia yesterday voted overwhelmingly to remain part of France in a third referendum that was boycotted by pro-independence groups, reports said.
Police reinforcements have been sent to the territory known as “the pebble,” which is of strategic importance to France and is part of a wider tussle for influence in the Pacific between Western countries and China.
With all ballots counted, 96.49 percent were against independence, while only 3.51 percent were in favor, with a mere 43.9 percent turnout, results from the New Caledonia High Commission showed.
Photo: AFP
The archipelago of about 185,000 voters, 2,000km east of Australia, was given three independence referendums under a 1988 deal aimed at easing tensions on the islands.
Having rejected a breakaway from France in 2018 and then again last year, the inhabitants were asked one last time: “Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?”
Pro-independence campaigners boycotted the vote, saying they wanted it postponed to September next year because “a fair campaign” was impossible due to high COVID-19 infection numbers.
The result could exacerbate ethnic tensions, with the indigenous Kanak community generally favoring independence over the wealthier white community.
The main pro-independence movement, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, had called the government’s insistence on going ahead with the referendum “a declaration of war.”
“This referendum does not make too much sense because half the population has decided not to vote,” Cathy, a bookseller who gave only her first name, said at a polling booth in the capital, Noumea. “I came out of civic-mindedness, what interests me is the society we are going to build afterward.”
At stake in the vote was one of France’s biggest overseas territories. New Caledonia is home to about 10 percent of the world’s reserves of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel, batteries and mobile phones.
Experts suspect an independent New Caledonia would move closer to Beijing, which has built up close economic links and political influence on other Pacific islands.
“If the French safeguard disappears, all elements would be in place for China to establish itself permanently in New Caledonia,” French international relations analyst Bastien Vandendyck said.
China is already the biggest single client for New Caledonia’s metal exports.
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