Referendum On Independence In New Caledonia

• 05 Oct 2020

• The French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia voted on 4th October in a referendum on independence.
• The referendum is part of a carefully negotiated de-colonisation plan agreed in 1998, known as the Noumea Accord, designed to put an end to a deadly conflict between the mostly pro-independence indigenous Kanak population, and the descendants of European settlers known as "Caldoches".
• It was the second time the tropical archipelago went to the polls to decide on its fate in two years, after a first referendum in 2018 resulted in the maintenance of the status quo with 56.7 per cent of the vote.
• If independence is rejected, there is the option of another referendum by 2022 so long as the poll is requested by at least a third of the local legislature.
• New Caledonia, situated between Australia and Fiji and sometimes called "The Pebble”.It has been French since 1853.
• If New Caledonia votes for independence, France would, after a transition period, hand over control.
• The last former colonies to be given independence by France were Djibouti in 1977 and Vanuatu in 1980.