[ad_1]
The French Pacific region of New Caledonia is voting in the third and final referendum on French independence.
But Sunday’s poll is marred by strikes by major independent parties that say the coronavirus is preventing fair vote.
Voting fell sharply in the previous two votes, with 27.8 percent voting during the day (01:00 GMT), compared with 49.4 percent then in the 2020 vote, according to island officials.
At a Candide-Koch polling station in Noumea, one voter told AFP that “this referendum is invalid because half of the people voted against it.”
Cathy, who only mentioned her first name, told AFP she “came from a social background”.
“What makes me happy is the team we will build later,” he added.
A constituency of about 185,000 voters, some 1,250 miles (1,250 miles) east of Australia, was given three independent referendums under the 1988 agreement to end the conflict on the islands.
After refusing to leave France in 2018 and last year, the people are finally asked: “Do you want New Caledonia to accept full sovereignty and independence?”
At risk are one of the largest regions outside France, where about 10 percent of the world’s nickel – used in the manufacture of stainless steel, batteries and mobile phones – is a key tool in Western-China competition in power. Indo-Pacific. .
“If French security were to fail, everything would be all right with China settling in New Caledonia,” said international relations analyst Bastien Vandendyck.
Other countries in the region, including Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, were already “Chinese satellites”, Vandendyck told AFP.
“Everything else is needed now to complete its pearl necklace at the entrance to Australia and New Caledonia,” he said.
‘Mess’
Independent activists are rejecting the vote, saying they want it to be delayed in September because a “good campaign” is not possible with large numbers of coronavirus infections.
“I do not want to go to the polls because I do not agree with the last vote,” said Jean-Pierre Wadra, a Noumea resident.
The 270,000 New Caledonia people have not been rescued during the outbreak, but have died at least 300 COVID-19 since the Delta genocide.
The independence movement continues to threaten to ignore the results of the referendum and has vowed to ask the United Nations to ban it.
Authorities sent 2,000 police officers and soldiers to the polls, which did not go unnoticed, according to the commissioner, although police intervened to try to block the passage to a remote island.
Whatever the outcome of the election, the debate could be heard: “There will be chaos in New Caledonia,” said Wadra.
The French foreign minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said the boycott would not change anything in the “legal” referendum.
The vote is coming in the wake of the growing tensions between Paris and its regional allies. France considers itself a major Indo-Pacific player because of foreign territories such as New Caledonia.
President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that France will not take part in the referendum, other than to ensure the smooth running of the country.
In the wake of the recent French-Australian dispute – over shipping – it seems China is growing in the region, with experts doubting whether autonomous New Caledonia could be justified by Beijing’s progress.
China is already the largest steel retailer in New Caledonia.
Voting closes at 6:00 pm (05:00 GMT) and results are expected within a few hours.
[ad_2]
Source link
