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Tokelauan self-determination referendum, 2006
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| Tokelau |
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The Tokelau self-determination referendum of 2006, supervised by the United Nations[1], was held from February 11 to February 15, 2006. The defeated proposal would have changed Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with Wellington, akin to the Cook Islands and Niue.
Despite the majority 60% who voted in favour of the proposal, the referendum failed to get the two-thirds majority required for the referendum to succeed.[2]
The majority of Tokelauans reside in New Zealand, and were ineligible to vote in the referendum, in line with standard practice in United Nations mandated votes on self-determination. However concerns among this community may have influenced those who were eligible to vote, thereby contributing to the referendum's failure.[3]
The passage of the referendum would have removed Tokelau from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, as the Cook Islands and Niue were removed from this list when they were granted self-governance in 1965 and 1974, respectively.
Outgoing Tokelau Ulu (head of government) Pio Tuia suggested in February 2006 that since the vote failed to pass by such a small margin, the issue was likely to be revisited in a few years' time.[4] In June 2006, his successor Kolouei O'Brien announced that the Fono had agreed to hold a similar referendum again in late 2007 or early 2008;[5] in the end, it was decided to hold a second referendum on self-determination in October 2007.[6]
An unintended result of the United Nations' recent efforts to promote decolonization in Tokelau has been the re-emergence of a Tokelauan claim to Swains Island, which is legally part of American Samoa, hitherto a somewhat dormant issue.
| Date | Location |
| February 11 | Apia, Samoa (Special overseas voting) |
| February 13 | Atafu atoll |
| February 14 | Nukunonu atoll |
| February 15 | Fakaofo atoll |
The proposal: "That Tokelau become a self governing state in Free Association with New Zealand on the basis of the Constitution and as in the draft Treaty notified to Tokelau".
| Result | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Agree with the proposal | 349 | 60.07 |
| Reject the proposal | 232 | 39.93 |
| Total | 581 | 100.00 |
| Invalid votes | 3 | |
| Total votes cast (turnout: 95.0%) | 584 | |
| Registered voters | 615 |
- ^ "New Zealand's last colony to vote on future", NZHerald, 10 Feb 2006.
- ^ "Tokelau referendum does not produce a two thirds majority in favour of a change of status", New Zealand Government, 16 Feb 2006.
- ^ "Tokelau leaders confident of stronger backing for next referendum on self determination", Radio New Zealand International, 13 March 2007.
- ^ "Outgoing Tokelau Boss Keen For New Referendum", TMCnet, 16 Feb 2006.
- ^ "Tokelau plans another referendum on self-determination", Radio New Zealand International, 5 June 2006.
- ^ United Nations (2 October 2006). Decolonization United Nations success story, but task not yet complete, Fourth Committee told as debate begins. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
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