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New Caledonia: a constitutional revision project that divides
New Caledonia: a constitutional revision project that divides
(Franceinfo)
While big changes to voting rights are being considered in New Caledonia, where people who arrived after 1998 cannot vote in provincial elections, separatists are firmly opposed to this idea. On Tuesday, the National Assembly adopted the constitutional revision project.
Not all people who arrived after 1998 can vote in provincial elections, or nearly one in five voters, in New Caledonia. The government nevertheless plans to open the electorate to all people residing there for at least ten years.
“In France, we have French citizens who have lived in New Caledonia for twenty-five years and who still cannot participate in territorial elections. We cannot accept such injustice on French territory”tance Gil Brial, spokesperson for the Loyalists and vice-president of the Southern province.
Problem: the separatists oppose the project. They fear that the reform will give less space to the autonomous Kanak people who represent 41% of the population of the archipelago. In mainland France, the government is procrastinating. Tuesday May 14, the National Assembly adopted the project. The Congress will be convened in Versailles to adopt the constitutional reform.
