🐚 The Saltwater Series ~ Stories from the Pacific
“Shining light on the silenced stories of the Kanak people and the Pacific”
⋆₊𓇼࿐𖦹˖ ࣪⭑ Kanak Rising- What’s Happening in New Caledonia Today?⋆｡˚⋆ Part 2: Nouméa Accord and Referendums
The Nouméa Accord was a notable step toward self-determination. One of its key elements was that only residents who had lived in New Caledonia before 1998 could vote in local elections. This measure was intended to ensure that Indigenous Kanak voices were protected, given that decades of French migration had already made them a minority in their own land.
As part of the accord, three referendums were held in 2018, 2020, and 2021 asking voters whether New Caledonia should become independent from France.
In all three referendums, the majority voted to remain part of France, but the outcomes were deeply contested.
The 2021 referendum was boycotted by many Kanak groups, who argued that the vote was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing fair participation.
Despite these results, many Kanak leaders argue that the process has not fulfilled the promise of decolonization.