New Caledonia loyalists largest bloc after election
New Caledonia’s anti-independence coalition emerged as the largest bloc in the legislature after state elections in the French Pacific region, but failed to achieve an outright majority, leaving a small, centrist Pacific party in the decision-making role.
The election, held on June 28 after repeated delays, was the first provincial vote since 2019 and came after deadly unrest over proposed changes to the local electoral roll in 2024, revealing deep tensions in France’s relationship with New Caledonia and its Indigenous Kanak population.
The French Pacific territory, about 1,500 kilometers east of Australia, has a population of about 270,000, about 41 percent of Melanesian Kanaks and 24 percent of European descent, mostly French, and has long been divided between pro-independence and pro-France camps.
Final results published by the High Commission showed that Sonia Backes’ staunch alliance Les Loyalistes-Le Rassemblement would hold 24 of the 54 seats in Congress, while the pro-independence bloc consisting of UC-FLNKS, UNI-Palika and Dynamique Autochtone would win 26 seats.
The balance is in the hands of the centrist party L’Eveil Oceanien, which has four seats.
L’Eveil Oceanien is expected to play a pivotal role in deciding whether the next manager will be loyal or shaped by a wider deal.
Under the New Caledonian system, Congress elects the government through proportional representation. Then, government members come together and elect a president and vice president from among themselves.
The outcome is particularly important as this government is expected to play a key role in shaping future negotiations with France on the status of the region.
Three referendums, including the most recent in 2021, have yielded a majority for the rest of France, but the 2021 vote was boycotted by pro-independence parties who asked for a postponement amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the Kanak mourning period.
