Breaking The island of Bougainville has overwhelmingly voted to break away from Papua New Guinea and become an independent country
The autonomous region of Bougainville has overwhelmingly voted to break away from Papua New Guinea and become an independent country.
Results of the historic referendum were announced on Wednesday, with 176,928 votes for independence out of 181,067 ballots. Voters proudly show off the flag of Bougainville, the symbol of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, as they head to cast their ballots.Residents were asked to choose between greater autonomy from Papua New Guinea or full independence.
But the referendum is non-binding and a vote for independence now needs to be negotiated between leaders from Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.This means the process of becoming a separate nation could still take years to achieve.The referendum was a key part of a 2001 peace agreement that ended a civil war in which at least 15,000 people died across the cluster of islands to the east of the Papua New Guinea mainland.
Scrutineers oversee the mixing bin. All ballot papers are currently being verified and checked that seals were intact on the ballot boxes and all ballot papers are balanced, before being entered to the mixing bin ahead of the count process.
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