POLICY FORUM
19 February 2021
The Bougainville referendum was an important turning point in Pacific democratic politics, however policymakers should take stock of the ways the process failed certain voters, Steven Kolova writes.
One of the most important events in the Pacific Island region in 2019 was the Bougainville independence referendum, held between 23 November and 7 December. Whilst the referendum has generally been accepted to have been a successful and legitimate process, there are also notable cases of administrative irregularities and problems that affected voter participation.
Through interviews with Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) officials, scrutineers, polling officials, police officers and observers, as well as analyses of mass media, radio broadcasts, Facebook, and other online sources, this author have sought to explore the referendum vote’s strengths and weaknesses.