Number 3/2009 Briefing Note NEW GOVERNMENT IN NEW CALEDONIA The May 2009 Elections in a French Pacific Territory INTRODUCTION political contest between different members of the independence coalition Front de Libération Nationale Every five years, voters in New Caledonia go to the polls, Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS). The rise of the new to elect representatives to three provincial assemblies Parti Travailliste (Labour Party) has strengthened but (North, South and Loyalty Islands) and the local complicated the movement for independence. Congress. The provincial assemblies and Congress are local Following elections on 10 May 2009, there are political institutions created by the Noumea Accord, 31 members of anti-independence parties in the which was signed in May 1998 by representatives new Congress and 23 independence supporters. The conservative Rassemblement UMP (RUMP), with of the French state, the FLNKS and the leading anti- 13 seats, is the largest political party in the Congress. independence party Rassemblement pour la Calédonie But behind these bald figures, all is not well for the dans la République (RPCR). supporters of France in the South Pacific. Today, more than ten years into the Noumea Accord Overall, pro-independence parties increased their process, New Caledonia’s politics are marked by a level representation in the Congress by five seats compared of stability and inter-communal engagement that is to the last elections in 2004. Anti-independence parties markedly different to the era of violent clashes between dominate the Southern Province Assembly but are 1984 and 1988. But in spite of major political, economic largely irrelevant outside the capital Noumea, winning and social restructuring and extensive funding by the only two of 22 seats in the Northern Assembly and, for French state, the election results show there is still a the first time ever, losing all their seats in the Loyalty significant gulf between parties which support or oppose Islands. This result highlights the ongoing polarisation political independence from France. Most members of between Noumea and the bush: in spite of migration the indigenous Kanak community continue to vote for from rural areas to the capital, European and immigrant independence, although they are still a minority of New Wallisian voters hold sway in the Southern Province, Caledonia’s population as a result of colonial settlement while the indigenous Kanak population (who largely and ongoing immigration. support independence) dominate in the rural provinces. These elections reflect a key issue for policy The elections were marked by significant makers in the Pacific region—can electoral reform and competition between the anti-independence parties, the promotion of a multi-party coalition government highlighted by a drop in votes for the RUMP, the transcend ongoing economic and social cleavages in a decline of the Avenir Ensemble party and success for multi-ethnic society? As in Fiji, the evidence from the the new Calédonie Ensemble party led by Philippe 2009 elections in New Caledonia suggests that many Gomes, who won the position of President of the underlying divisions are still unresolved. The election Government of New Caledonia. There is also a sharp campaign featured debate over ‘hip pocket’ issues like SSGM Briefing Note No. 3/2009 local employment, housing and prices, but the issue of national Congress, a multi-party executive govern- ‘independence or autonomy within the French republic’ ment, and a 16-member Senate for Kanak customary is still central to political life. chiefs which must be consulted on issues that affect This briefing note starts by outlining New Kanak identity Caledonia’s parliamentary and electoral system. It then 2. the creation of a “New Caledonian citizenship”, analyses the results of the 2009 elections for both pro- with a restricted electoral roll for the local political and anti-independence parties and details the post- institutions election formation of the government. It also notes key issues arising from the campaign that have relevance for 3. an “irreversible” transfer of administrative and neighbouring Pacific states. legislative powers from Paris to the local authorities in Noumea, supported by ongoing funding from France PART 1: NEW CALEDONIA’s POLITICAL 4. a 15–20 year transition before a referendum on self- STRUCTURES determination for New Caledonia, possibly leading to The 1988 Matignon–Oudinot Accords ended a period the “emancipation” of the territory and the transfer of conflict in New Caledonia which pitted Kanak of the remaining sovereign powers (defence, foreign independence activists against the French army, police policy, police, judiciary, currency) and right-wing militias supported by elements of the 5. measures to recognise indigenous Kanak culture and settler community. Most leaders wanted to avoid a identity (highlighted by a preamble to the Noumea clash at the end of the ten-year Matignon period, so Accord which acknowledges the “shadows” of the a new agreement dubbed the Noumea Accord was colonial period and the need for decolonisation). negotiated to avoid a referendum on independence in 1998. This deal created new political structures and These changes are now entrenched in the French electoral systems to encourage political co-operation Constitution and New Caledonia has a unique legal status between competing parties. It also created a further amongst France’s overseas possessions. However, New transition period before a final decision on New Caledonian citizens retain their French nationality and Caledonia’s political status, in a referendum scheduled New Caledonia is represented in the French parliament after 2014 (for discussion of the agreement by France’s in Paris, with two seats in the National Assembly and chief negotiator, see Christnacht 2004). one in the Senate. All French nationals in New Caledonia Key elements of the May 1998 Noumea Accord can also vote for the European Parliament. include: Since the Noumea Accord, elections for the local 1. the creation of new political institutions in New assemblies and Congress have been held every five Caledonia, including three provincial assemblies, a years—in 1999, 2004 and again in 2009. TABle 1: New Caledonia’S provincial inStitUtionS Southern Northern Loyalty Islands TOTAL Province Province Province Population numbers 164,235 44,747 22,080 231,062 (2004 census) (71.2 per cent) (19.3 per cent) (9.6 per cent) Number of registered 83,648 32,677 19,607 135,932 voters (2009) Number of seats in 40 22 14 76 Provincial assembly Number of assembly 32 15 7 54 members in Congress 2 SSGM Briefing Note No. 3/2009 New Caledonia uses the French system of electoral To gain a seat, an electoral list must win enough votes lists: voters aged 18 and above chose from a range of to reach the threshold of five per cent of registered (not slates put forward by parties or coalitions, with seats actual) voters in the province. This threshold varies allocated according to the proportion of the vote (for according to population and the number of seats in each details of electoral law, candidate and voter eligibility, assembly: in 2009, the threshold was 981 votes (Islands), see Maclellan 2005). Voting is not compulsory, and there 1,634 (North) and 4,182 (South). are variations in turn-out across the three provinces and Votes for lists that do not reach the five per cent also according to the type of election (for example, voter threshold are not re-allocated. This threshold is designed turn out in the Pacific is very low for EU elections). to encourage parties to unite and form coalitions, but The electorates are based on the three provinces: has been largely unsuccessful, and can leave significant the Southern Province, with over 70 per cent of the sections of the electorate without parliamentary population; the Northern Province; and the Loyalty representation. The number of electoral lists has risen Islands Province (though urbanisation and new over time from 20 (1989) to 21 (1995), 23 (1999) and 31 development projects in the north are shifting the (2004). In 2009, the number of lists was slightly reduced population and over a third of the population of the to 24: ten in the South and seven each in the North and outlying islands now live on the mainland, mainly in Loyalty Islands. In 2004, 17 out of 31 lists failed to the capital Noumea and surrounding towns). reach the threshold, meaning some 17,350 voters went On 10 May 2009, voters chose 76 members for unrepresented (nearly 20 per cent of the electorate). Even the three provincial assemblies. The assemblies are with fewer lists in 2009, 10 out of 24 failed to reach the of different sizes, reflecting population distribution: threshold—a total of 12,705 votes being wasted (13 per Southern Province (40 seats); Northern Province (22 cent of the electorate). seats); Loyalty Islands Province (14 seats). Each assembly PART 2: ELECTION RESUltS then elects its own President and executive. A proportion of the members of these assemblies The 2009 elections in New Caledonia have reinforced then make up the 54-member Congress, with members a trend evident over the last decade: in the 1980s and serving five-year terms. The Congress is made up of 32 1990s, the FLNKS and RPCR were hegemonic blocs, (out of 40) members from the Southern Assembly, 15 but today these two forces are fracturing into competing (out of 22) from the Northern Assembly and 7 (out of 14) political parties. As well as disputes within both political from the Loyalty Islands Assembly. camps, the latest election has seen the marginalisation Following the first post-election sitting of the of some parties opposed to the Noumea Accord (such Congress, its members choose a multi-party government as the neo-fascist National Front) and the growth of a of between five and eleven people. The Government significant new force on the Left—the Parti Travailliste can propose laws for adoption by the Congress in areas (Labour Party).