Wednesday 19-07-2017. Protestors in Noumea the Commission politique et citoyenneté du FLNKS et Nationalistes tweeted - "The protest for a right to vote," with an FLNKS flag emoticon. Photo: Commission politique et citoyenneté du FLNKS et Nationalistes
New Caledonia's main anti-independence party has hit out at the group which organised Wednesday's rally in Noumea to call for the automatic enrolment of Kanaks for next year's independence referendum.
The Caledonia Together party said the march by the estimated 3,000 people was based on a claim which goes counter to the stance taken by the committee in charge of provisions of the Noumea Accord.
The party said the committee called for the enrollment of all eligible voters and made no distinction between Kanaks and non-Kanaks.
It said it deplores that the group of pro-independence supporters and nationalists engaged in agitation and held a march based on discriminating against non-Kanaks.
The party said this also goes against its own campaign to automatically enrol all New Caledonian-born people irrespective of ethnicity.
The terms of the Noumea Accord restrict voting to those enrolled since 1998 and their descendants once the reach voting age.
There are disputes over the number of Kanaks that are yet to enrol for next year's plebiscite as there are claims that non-Kanaks are on the roll without meeting the residency criteria.