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TEHRAN, November 04 - The French Pacific islands of New Caledonia began voting Sunday on whether to become an independent nation, in a closely-watched test of support for France in one of its many territories scattered around the globe.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Some 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) from the French mainland, New Caledonia is home to a quarter of the world's known supplies of nickel -- a vital electronics component -- and is a strategic foothold for France in the Pacific.
Voting in New Caledonia's 284 polling stations opened at 8.00 am local time Sunday (2100 GMT Saturday) and was to end at 6.00 pm, with results expected the same evening.
The participation rate was 41.8 percent at midday, compared to 27.3 percent at the same time during local elections in 2014, the High Commission said Sunday.
Some 175,000 people are eligible to vote in the remote islands fringed by spectacular beaches, with opinion polls predicting a large majority in favor of staying French.
But there are fears the referendum could inflame tensions between indigenous Kanak people, who tend to favor independence, and the white population, which boiled over into deadly violence in the 1980s.
The quasi-civil war claimed more than 70 lives. It led to the 1998 Noumea Accord which paved the way for the steady devolution of powers as well as Sunday's referendum.
Separatists have urged Kanak voters to choose self-determination for Kanaky, their name for New Caledonia, and throw off the shackles of "colonial" authorities in Paris.
"It's a great day for us. My father, my grandfather fought for this country and today is the second fight in the ballot box," said pro-independence supporter Patrick Watrone on Sunday, dressed in the colours of Kanak flag.
But indigenous people make up less than 50 percent of the electorate and some Kanaks back staying part of France, not least due to the 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) the French state hands to the islands every year.
Going it alone, "I'm not sure we have all the assets we'd need to succeed," said Marc Gnipate, a 62-year-old pensioner.
Source: AFP
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