Wikipedia

Independence referendum

An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence does not always ultimately result in independence.

East Timorese independence referendum in 1999
South Sudanese independence referendum in 2011

Procedure

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An independence referendum typically arises first after political success for nationalists of a territory. This could come in the election of politicians or parties with separatist policies, or from pressure from nationalist organisations.

Negotiations

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Negotiations for the terms of an independence referendum may take place between the nationalists and the government which exercises sovereignty over the territory. If terms can be agreed, then the independence referendum can be held with its result binding, and respected by the international community. Independence referendums can be held without the consent of a national or the federal governments, then the international community will rely on several other factors, e.g. were the local people oppressed by the central government or not, to decide if the result can be recognized or not.

 
Scottish Government and UK central government delegates discussing the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Various issues can be discussed in negotiations, such as the date and timing of the poll, as well as voter eligibility. For these instances, common electoral practice is often widely used, although there can be deviations, as seen with the lowering of the voting age for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Other issues to be negotiated include what question or questions should be on the ballot, and what the voting options could be. Independence referendums can offer options of greater autonomy as well as, or instead of, the status quo. They can also put forward other constitutional questions to ballot. The questions that referendums ask may be revised if parties involved in negotiations consider them to be too leading.

Negotiations notably need to address what would make a result binding. For some independence referendums, a simple majority is required for one option. In other cases, a quota can be used, where a certain percentage of the vote or the electorate needs to be in favour of an option for it to be binding.

Successful negotiations can be hard to achieve for nationalists, as governments can be reluctant to give up sovereignty. For example, nationalists planned to hold a referendum in Catalonia in 2014, but met opposition from the Spanish government. As a result, the referendum that went ahead was unofficial and non-binding.

Aftermath

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In the event of a vote for independence, there may be negotiations on the terms of secession for the territory from the sovereign state. A declaration of independence for a new state is then made, and international recognition can follow, as well as membership of international organisations such as the United Nations. In cases involving non-binding referendums, this can lead to a unilateral declaration of independence, and therefore partially recognised or self-proclaimed states, like the Donbas status referendums.

In the event of a vote against independence, there may still be a strong nationalist movement and calls for there to be a rerun of the independence referendum. For example, after two referendums in Quebec, the Parti Québécois has continued to raise the prospect of holding another referendum,[1] and the Scottish National Party has said that there should be a repeat of the 2014 referendum now that the United Kingdom has left the European Union.

List of independence referendums

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Proposed state Year Proposed independence from Majority for independence Independence Recognition of result Notes
  Chile 1817   Spain Yes Yes No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Liberia 1846 American Colonization Society Yes Yes Yes
  Republic of Maryland 1853 Maryland State Colonization Society Yes Yes Yes
  Norway 1905   Sweden–Norway Yes Yes Yes
  Iceland 1918   Denmark Yes Yes Yes
  Western Australia 1933   Australia Yes No No
  Cambodia 1945   France Yes Yes Yes
  Mongolia 1945   China Yes Yes Yes Initially recognized by the Republic of China, but recognition was abolished in 1953; recognized by the People's Republic of China.
  Faroe Islands 1946   Denmark Yes No No Independence declaration annulled by Denmark.
  Newfoundland 1948   United Kingdom No No Yes Integrated with Canada.
  Nagaland 1951   India Yes No No Unrecognized by the government of India.[2]
  Saar 1955   France No No Yes Integrated with West Germany.
  Cameroon 1958 No No Yes Referendum on a new French constitution. A no vote would have led to independence.
  Central African Republic 1958 No No Yes
  Chad 1958 No No Yes
  Comoros 1958 No No Yes
  Congo 1958 No No Yes
  Dahomey 1958 No No Yes
  Djibouti 1958 No No Yes
  French Polynesia 1958 No No Yes
  Gabon 1958 No No Yes
  Guinea 1958 Yes Yes Yes
  Ivory Coast 1958 No No Yes
  Madagascar 1958 No No Yes
  Mali 1958 No No Yes
  Mauritania 1958 No No Yes
  New Caledonia 1958 No No Yes
  Niger 1958 No No Yes
  Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1958 No No Yes
  Senegal 1958 No No Yes
  Upper Volta 1958 No No Yes
  Western Samoa 1961   New Zealand Yes Yes Yes
  Algeria 1962   France Yes Yes Yes
  Malta 1964   United Kingdom Yes Yes Yes
  Rhodesia 1964 Yes De facto No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Djibouti 1967   France No No Yes
  Puerto Rico 1967   United States No No Yes
  West Papua 1969   Indonesia No No Yes
  Northern Mariana Islands 1969   United States No No Yes
  Bahrain 1970   United Kingdom Yes Yes Yes
  Niue 1974   New Zealand Majority for associated status Associated status achieved Yes Became an associated state of New Zealand.
  Comoros 1974   France Yes Yes Yes Mayotte remained with France.
  Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 1975   United States No No Yes
  Guam 1976 No No Yes
  Aruba 1977   Netherlands Yes No Yes Independence plans dropped in 1994.
  Djibouti 1977   France Yes Yes Yes
  Nevis 1977   Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Yes No No Unofficial referendum to become independent from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and attain Crown colony status within the British Empire. Unrecognized by the central government.
  Quebec 1980   Canada No No Yes
  Ciskei 1980   South Africa Yes De facto Partial Recognized by South Africa; not by the international community.
  Guam 1982   United States No No Yes
  Micronesia 1983 Yes Yes Yes Became an associated state of the United States.
  Marshall Islands 1983 No No Yes
  Palau 1983 No No Yes Became an associated state of the United States.
1984 No No Yes
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands 1984   Australia No No Yes
  Falkland Islands 1986   United Kingdom No No Yes
  New Caledonia 1987   France No No Yes
  Slovenia 1990   Yugoslavia Yes Yes Yes Unilaterally declared independence.
  Armenia 1991   Soviet Union Yes Yes Yes
  Azerbaijan 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Croatia 1991   Yugoslavia Yes Yes Yes Unilaterally declared independence.
  Estonia 1991   Soviet Union Yes Yes Yes
  Georgia 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Kosova 1991   Yugoslavia Yes No No Only recognized by Albania.
  Latvia 1991   Soviet Union Yes Yes Yes
  Lithuania 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Macedonia 1991   Yugoslavia Yes Yes Yes
  Nagorno-Karabakh 1991   Soviet Union Yes De facto No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Ukraine 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Transnistria 1991 Yes De facto No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Gagauz Republic 1991 Yes De facto[3] No Unilaterally separated from Moldova; reintegrated into the country in 1995.
  Turkmenistan 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Uzbekistan 1991 Yes Yes Yes
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992   Yugoslavia Yes Yes Yes Unilaterally declared independence.
  Montenegro 1992 No No Yes Montenegro split from Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.
  South Ossetia 1992   Georgia Yes De facto No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Tatarstan 1992   Russia Yes Yes No Reintegrated with Russia in 1994.
  Eritrea 1993   Ethiopia Yes Yes Yes
  United States Virgin Islands 1993   United States No No Yes
  Puerto Rico 1993 No No Yes
  Curaçao 1993   Netherlands No No Yes
  Bonaire 1994 No No Yes
  Sint Maarten 1994 No No Yes
  Saba 1994 No No Yes
  Sint Eustatius 1994 No No Yes
  Bermuda 1995   United Kingdom No No Yes
  Quebec 1995   Canada No No Yes
  Seborga 1995[4]   Italy Yes No No Regarded as a micronation.
  Anjouan 1997   Comoros Yes De facto No Reintegrated with the Comoros in 2001.
  Nevis 1998   Saint Kitts and Nevis Yes No Yes 2/3 majority was required for independence.
  Puerto Rico 1998   United States No No Yes
  East Timor 1999   Indonesia Yes Yes Yes
  Sint Maarten 2000   Netherlands No No Yes
  Somaliland 2001   Somalia Yes De facto No
  Bonaire 2004   Netherlands No No Yes
  Saba 2004 No No Yes
  Kurdistan 2005   Iraq Yes No No
  Curaçao 2005   Netherlands No No Yes
  Sint Eustatius 2005 No No Yes
  Montenegro 2006   Serbia and Montenegro Yes Yes Yes
  South Ossetia 2006   Georgia Yes De facto No
  Transnistria 2006   Moldova Yes De facto No
  Tokelau 2006   New Zealand Majority for associated status
but Quorum not reached 		Associated status not achieved Yes The referendum was on whether Tokelau should become an associated state of New Zealand. 2/3 majority was required.
2007 Majority for associated status
but Quorum not reached 		Associated status not achieved Yes
  Tamil Eelam 2009–2010   Sri Lanka Yes No No Unofficial referendum. Unrecognized by the government of Sri Lanka.
  South Sudan 2011   Sudan Yes[5] Yes Yes
  Puerto Rico 2012   United States No No Yes
  Donetsk 2014   Ukraine Yes[6] De facto[7] No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Luhansk 2014 Yes[6] De facto[7] No Unilaterally declared independence.
  Veneto 2014   Italy Yes No No Unofficial referendum. Unrecognized by the government of Italy.
  Scotland 2014   United Kingdom No No Yes
  Catalonia 2014   Spain Yes No No
  Sint Eustatius 2014   Kingdom of the Netherlands No No Yes
  South Brazil 2016   Brazil Yes No No Unofficial referendum. Unrecognized by the government of Brazil.
  Puerto Rico 2017   United States No No Yes
  Kurdistan 2017   Iraq Yes No[8] No The referendum also took place in the disputed territories of Northern Iraq.
  Catalonia 2017   Spain Yes No[9] No Unilaterally declared independence. Declaration annulled by the government of Spain.[10]
  South Brazil 2017   Brazil Yes No No Unofficial referendum. Unrecognized by the government of Brazil.
  New Caledonia 2018   France No No Yes
  Bougainville 2019   Papua New Guinea Yes Subject to negotiation[11] Yes Nonbinding vote.[12] Independence rests with Papua New Guinea's parliament.[13]
  New Caledonia 2020   France No No[14] Yes
2021 No No Yes Boycotted by pro-independence parties.[15]
  Puerto Rico 2024   United States No No Yes


See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ "Neverendum referendum: Voting on independence, Quebec-style". BBC News. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ^ Walling, A. Wati; Agrawal, Ankush; Phom, B. Henshet (1 January 2018). Democracy In Nagaland: Tribes, Traditions, and Tensions. Highlander Press. ISBN 9780692070314.
  3. ^ Marcin Kosienkowski (2017). "The Gagauz Republic: An Autonomism-Driven De Facto State" (PDF). The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review. 44 (3): 292–313.
  4. ^ Roth, Christopher F. (March 2015). Let's Split! A Complete Guide to Separatist Movements and Aspirant Nations, from Abkhazia to Zanzibar (PDF). Litwin Books, LLC. p. 90. In 1995, Giorgio held a referendum, with Seborgans opting for independence 304-4.
  5. ^ "South Sudan backs independence – results". BBC News. 7 February 2011.
  6. ^ a b "In eastern Ukraine, polls close amid allegations of double-voting". CNN. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Russia Praises Ukraine's Autonomy Law for Rebel Areas". The Wall Street Journal. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Iraqi Kurds offer to 'freeze' independence referendum result". BBC News. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Catalonia independence: Spain takes charge of Catalan government". BBC News. 28 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Suspendida la declaración de independencia de Cataluña". Huffington Post (in Spanish). 31 October 2017.
  11. ^ Lyons, Kate (2019-12-10). "Bougainville referendum: region votes overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  12. ^ "Bougainville referendum not binding - PM". Radio New Zealand. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  13. ^ Mckenna, Kylie; Ariku, Emelda (19 November 2021). "Bougainville independence: recalling promises of international help". The Interpreter. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  14. ^ Sartre, Julien; Doherty, Ben (4 October 2020). "New Caledonia rejects independence from France for second time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  15. ^ "New Caledonia pro-independence parties reject referendum result". Al Jazeera. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
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