Referendum in New Caledonia 1998

On November 8, 1998 , a referendum was held in New Caledonia to approve the Nouméa Agreement . A majority of 72 percent of the voters accepted the agreement.

prehistory

The former French colony of New Caledonia had had the status of a French overseas territory since 1947 . This also included limited self-government. However, this regional autonomy hardly benefited the indigenous people of New Caledonia, the Kanaks , as they only formed a minority in the island territory due to massive immigration from Europe and other areas of Southeast Asia and Oceania. In fact, they remained largely excluded from political participation and also belonged to the economically disadvantaged part of the population. From the 1960s onwards there were increasingly militant actions by a Kanak independence movement against the French administration. In 1988, under the direction of the French government, the so-called Matignon Agreement was concluded, which provided for the holding of a referendum on the possible independence of the territory from France in 1998. In the decade 1988–1998, with financial support from the French state, measures to improve the social situation of the Kanak population were to take place.

In 1998 there were renewed negotiations between the various parties in New Caledonia - mainly the independence-striving FLNKS ( Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation ) and the loyalist RPCR ( Le Rassemblement pour la Calédonie dans la France ) - moderated by the French government of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin , which resulted in the Nouméa Agreement, which was signed by all negotiating partners on May 5, 1998. It was agreed to postpone the independence referendum. The decisive factor was that the FLNKS had strong doubts whether a majority for independence would come about in a referendum at this point in time. The time frame for the independence referendum was set between May 2014 and December 2018.

The agreement would then be submitted to voters in New Caledonia for a decision and November 8, 1998 was set as the voting date. Politically, New Caledonia was given further powers to the previous ones and New Caledonia received a special political status.

In the debates before the vote, the FKNKS and the RPCR spoke out in favor of the agreement. The groups UNCT ( Une Nouvelle-Calédonie pour tous ) and DECA ( Développer ensemble pour construire l'avenir ), as well as local branches of the Front National and the Mouvement pour la France, spoke out in favor of a rejection .

Voting question

The question put to the voters, to be answered with Oui or Non , was:

«Approvez-vous l'Accord sur la Nouvelle-Calédonie signed à Nouméa le 5 may 1998? »

"Do you agree to the New Caledonia Agreement signed in Nouméa on May 5, 1998?"

- Question from the referendum of November 8, 1998

Results

The vote resulted in a clear majority of an average of 71.9% in favor of the agreement. The majority of the communities in New Caledonia approved the agreement. Approval was lowest in the capital, Nouméa, at 57.7%. 2.7% of the votes were invalid. The turnout was 74.23%.

Percent yes votes in a map.

Referendum results by municipalities in New Caledonia

local community		Eligible voters	Voters	Valid	Yes		No
					number	%	number	%
1	Thio	1554	1157	1135	1045	92.1	90	7.9
2	Yate	1124	861	857	827	96.5	30th	3.5
3	L'Île-des-Pins	915	535	531	510	96.0	21st	4.0
4th	Le Mont-Dore	10,448	8556	8242	5463	66.3	2779	33.7
5	Nouméa	33,061	26,667	25,836	14,909	57.7	10,927	42.3
6th	Dumbéa	6829	5568	5399	3178	58.9	2221	41.1
7th	Païta	4661	3827	3662	2653	72.4	1009	27.6
8th	Bouloupari	1235	994	969	677	69.9	292	30.1
9	La Foa	1819	1521	1480	1028	69.5	452	30.5
10	Sarraméa	372	290	277	230	83.0	47	17.0
11	Farino	319	277	271	150	55.4	121	44.6
12	Moindou	427	338	323	233	72.1	90	27.9
13	Bourail	2540	2095	2027	1218	60.1	809	39.9
14th	Poya	1527	1191	1152	935	81.2	217	18.8
15th	Pouembout	680	562	542	449	82.8	93	17.2
16	Cone	2316	1813	1782	1518	85.2	264	14.8
17th	Voh	1481	1152	1123	937	83.4	186	16.6
18th	Kaala-Gomen	938	641	630	514	81.6	116	18.4
19th	Koumac	1543	1273	1241	654	52.7	587	47.3
20th	Poum	751	515	514	435	84.6	79	15.4
21st	Belep Islands	671	430	424	413	97.4	11	2.6
22nd	Ouégoa	1388	986	975	792	81.2	183	18.8
23	Pouébo	1619	1030	1017	972	95.6	45	4.4
24	Hienghène	1495	1103	1096	1056	96.4	40	3.6
25th	Touho	1405	1055	1033	946	91.6	87	8.4
26th	Poindimié	2653	2054	2001	1802	90.1	199	9.9
27	Ponérihouen	1688	1267	1248	1137	91.1	111	8.9
28	Houaïlou	2501	1612	1579	1443	91.4	136	8.6
29	Kouaoua	834	647	631	573	90.8	58	9.2
30th	Canala	2259	1589	1555	1500	96.5	55	3.5
31	Ouvéa	3294	1710	1698	1626	95.8	72	4.2
32	Lifou	7850	3436	3416	3238	94.8	178	5.2
33	Maré	4501	2450	2431	2339	96.2	92	3.8
New Caledonia as a whole		106,698	79.202	77.097	55,400	71.9	21,697	28.1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lorenz Gonschor: Decentralization or Decolonization? The evolution of the political status of the French overseas territories in the Pacific. Pacific Observatory, Dossier No. 62, June 2002, accessed April 14, 2018 (Review). 
2. ↑ Le référendum sur l'avenir institutionnel de la Nouvelle-Calédonie aura lieu le 8 novembre prochain. Les Echos, August 20, 1998, accessed April 14, 2018 (French). 
3. ^ French Senate (Ed.): PROJET DE LOI ORGANIQUE relatif à la consultation sur l'accession de la Nouvelle-Calédonie à la pleine souveraineté . April 7, 2015, CHAPITRE Ier - PRESENTATION DE LA SITUATION INSTITUTIONNELLE DE LA NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE (French).
4. ↑ ^{a b} Décision du 9 novembre 1998 proclamant les résultats de la consultation des populations de la Nouvelle-Calédonie du dimanche 8 novembre 1998 . In: Journal officel de la République Française . November 10, 1998, p. 16959 (French, pdf ).