More fractured than ever, New Caledonia sent for the first time since 1986 an independence candidate – Emmanuel Tjibaou – to the National Assembly on Sunday, July 7. Beyond the symbol, this election could change the balance of power in discussions on the future of this French archipelago in the South Pacific.
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Emmanuel Tjibaou, 48, won by a wide margin in the second constituency of “Caillou”, with 57.33% of the vote, at the end of an election marked by a record turnout. In the first constituency, which includes Noumea, loyalist Nicolas Metzdorf won, but with a much closer score than expected: he only won 52.41% of the vote against pro-independence Omayra Naisseline.
Visibly moved, Emmanuel Tjibaou called after his election for “ recreate the conditions for dialogue » on the public channel Nouvelle-Calédonie–La 1ère, claiming to be part of the Matignon (1988) and Noumea (1998) agreements, which brought about a period of peace after the quasi-civil war of the 1984-1988 period.
Second pro-independence MP in New Caledonian history
Emmanuel Tjibaou becomes the second pro-independence MP in New Caledonia’s history after Roch Pidjot, elected from 1964 to 1986. He is above all the first to achieve this feat since the division of the two New Caledonian constituencies in 1986, decried by the pro-independence camp which considers them tailored to the loyalists.
His election comes as the New Caledonia is mired in unrest that began in May with the examination in the National Assembly of the constitutional bill on the thawing of the electoral body. Although the riots have calmed down, despite sporadic unrest, hundreds of businesses are at a standstill and a serious economic crisis is looming.
An election seen as a “referendum”
Son of Jean-Marie Tjibaou, emblematic Kanak leader assassinated in 1989Emmanuel Tjibaou had never been involved in politics until this express campaign, distinguishing himself in the Caledonian cultural field, where he held several important positions.
Locally, at the end of a campaign consumed by the issues related to the institutional future of Caledonia, it was the combined figures of the two ballots that created astonishment. While many independentists had made this election a kind of referendum, they obtained more than 10,000 votes ahead of the loyalists, a first.
Between the two rounds, Emmanuel Tjibaou and Omayra Naisseline campaigned to convince the abstainers, holding several political meetings a day. With success.
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