New Caledonia has elected its first pro-independence government since 1999.
The pro-independence UC-FLNKS and Union nationale pour l’indépendance parties on Wednesday secured six of the 11 posts in the executive, with the pro-France Avenir en Confiance and Calédonie Ensemble taking the other five seats.
It is now expected a pro-independence politician will be elected president of the French territory, two hours flight from Brisbane, for the first time in almost four decades.
New Caledonia’s government collapsed two weeks ago after the resignation of five pro-independence members over budgetary disagreements and weeks of protest over the sale of a nickel refinery.
Under the Nouméa Accord peace agreement, which set out a 30-year peace plan that ended a violent civil conflict between the Indigenous Kanak independence movement and the French government, New Caledonia is ruled by a collegial, multi-party government.
The last time a Kanak-led government ruled in New Caledonia was under the leadership of Jean-Marie Tjibaou from 1982 to 1984. He was assassinated in 1989.
The historic election comes ahead of an expected third and final independence referendum in November 2022.
The previous two referenda in 2018 and 2020 saw a ‘remain’ vote slip from 56.7 per cent to 53.3 per cent, after heavy campaigning by the pro-independence parties secured a strong youth turnout.
Congress is due to formally vote to hold the final referendum in April.
