Voting begins in delayed New Caledonia provincial elections
About 2,500 police are guarding polling stations as voters choose 76 provincial councillors that will shape talks with France, officials said.
- On Sunday, New Caledonia began long-delayed provincial elections under heavy security, with 2,500 police deployed across the French-ruled Pacific territory following violent 2024 unrest between indigenous Kanaks and French loyalists.
- The French High Commission said security forces, including 16 squadrons, aim to "reassure" the population after a "sensitive" period on social and economic grounds, while authorities banned alcohol sales since last week.
- Following a fire on Friday near a Town Halls polling station on the Isle of Pines, Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas described damage as "collateral" from an attack on an electrical company; the station relocated to a school canteen.
- Voters are designating 76 members across three provincial assemblies representing around 270,000 people, including 41% Melanesian Kanak and 24% of European origin, to form the Congress of New Caledonia.
- As voting concludes at 6pm, provisional results will determine the territory's leadership, which is key to shaping future status negotiations with France, while the French digital watchdog agency "Viginum" reports no significant cyber interference threats.
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REPORT - In this fief affected by the 2024 riots, a large majority of voters chose independent candidates in the provincial elections on Sunday, despite different aspirations between the "young" and the "old".
New Caledonia: Election results are expected on Sunday for this French territory in the Pacific, in crisis since the riots of 2024.
New Caledonia election tests territory's future after unrest and deadlock
New Caledonia goes to the poll on Sunday in crucial elections. The possibility of independence from France remains the central political issue, with today’s vote taking place peacefully. The election comes two years after plans to expand voting rights to thousands of non-Indigenous residents triggered deadly unrest and forced the postponement of elections in 2024. Eliza Herbert reports.
New Caledonia holds first local vote since 2019
People vote at the Veyret-Kafoa polling station during New Caledonia’s provincial elections in the Riviere Salee neighbourhood of Noumea. (AFP pic) NOUMEA: Voters in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia cast ballots Sunday in the archipelago’s first provincial elections since 2019, after the vote was delayed as talks stalled over its political future. The results of the election, initially planned for 2024, will determine the balance o…
New Caledonia heads to polls in vote delayed since 2024
Security has been high at polling stations as the South Pacific archipelago holds its first provincial elections since 2019. The vote in the French territory was originally set for 2024 but was delayed by violent unrest.
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