With three days to go before the referendum, the Customary Senate reiterates its call to respect the dead linked to Covid-19. At a press conference on Thursday 9 December, the Customary Senate of New Caledonia asked “the Kanaks and progressive forces to observe a day of national mourning” on the day of the vote, 12 December. On Sunday, a referendum will be held in which Caledonians will have to say whether they want to remain in France.

We don’t vote, but we respect those who do

The pro-independence party (FLNKS) has called on its supporters not to vote in order to respect the mourning of the families caused by the covid-19.
The Customary Senate invited Kanaks not to go to the polling stations, while respecting “the right to vote and public order”.
The senators took the opportunity to call on the State once again. They regret “the insincerity of the self-determination vote”. They called on all Caledonians to “co-construct an independent state with links to France”.