THE majority of people in the French territory of New Caledonia stayed away from a referendum on independence for the Pacific island.
Results published by the French High Commission based in the island's capital of Noumea on Monday showed a turnout of just 43.9% of voters.
They also showed that 96.5% of those that did vote on Sunday (December 12) opposed independence.
The indigenous Kanak population who favour independence, called for people not to take part in the vote after France rejected a request to delay the ballot to allow for a traditional 12-month mourning period due to a September surge in coronavirus infections.
READ MORE: Narrow margin in New Caledonia's 2020 referendum
New Caledonia's congress president, Roch Wamytan, a pro-independence leader told Franceinfo radio: "This referendum, for us, is not the third referendum. We consider that there are only two legitimate referendums. 2018 and 2020. This referendum is the referendum of the French state, not ours.
"The Caledonians have chosen to remain French. They decided that freely," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address.
"We can't ignore that the electorate remained deeply divided over the years ... A period of transition is now starting," he added.
Abstentions stood at 56.13%, blank ballots at 1.43% and null ballots at 1.56%.
READ MORE: Let's look at New Caledonia's independence referendum
The vote, the third and final ballot on the issue, follows two previous polls in 2018 and 2020 in which the "no" vote got 57% and 53% respectively.
Three votes were prescribed by a deal agreed after a decade of talks on the island's future which began in 1988.
Fighting erupted in the territory in the 1980s between independence supporters and those who want to stay in France.
The island is located 1200km (750 miles) to the east of Australia and is 20,000km (12,000 miles) away from France.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel