High turnout in New Caledonia legislative elections, town hall blocked in the East

In New Caledonia, participation in the first round of legislative elections was sharply higher at midday, compared to the 2022 vote, according to figures given on Sunday June 30 by the high commission, which added that the town hall of Houaïlou, on the east coast, is blocked, preventing the vote from taking place there.

“The estimated turnout at noon is 32.39%. During the previous election, it was 13.06% in 2022 and 15.76% in 2017”announced the High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia in a press release. “The vote took place in a vast majority without incident and in a secure manner”adds the press release, while tensions remain high on the archipelago after the riots caused by the electoral reform rejected by the separatists.

Some 229,000 Caledonians are being called to the polls to elect the two MPs from the French territory in the South Pacific and the authorities were anticipating a much higher turnout than in the European elections, which resulted in an abstention rate of 86.5%.

Town hall blocked in Houaïlou

From 7 a.m., when the polling stations opened, long queues formed in the various voting centers in Nouméa, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse, with the vote taking place without incident in the Caledonian capital. Polling stations will close at 5 p.m. local time (8 a.m. in Paris)

According to the High Commission, the only notable incident concerns Houaïlou, a commune located on the east coast of the archipelago where “access to the town hall is blocked by the rioters, thereby preventing the opening of the various polling stations and therefore the holding of the vote”.

“The situation is currently not stable in the municipality”, adds the press release. During the night, the Houaïlou gendarmerie was also targeted by “violent attacks with the use of a mining machine to damage the enclosure”.