Polling in the Bougainville independence referendum at Hutjena Station. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Johnny Blades
A senior minister in Papua New Guinea has laid out the process required for the autonomous region of Bougainville to have its independence referendum tabled in parliament.
In 2019 Bougainvilleans voted 97.7 percent in favour of independence from PNG in a non-binding referendum that was put in place by the 2001 Peace Agreement, which officially ended nine years of bloody civil war.
On Tuesday, the Minister of Bougainville Affairs, Manaseh Makiba, told the national parliament in Port Moresby what was needed before the referendum could be tabled.
He said officials from either government could not agree on the meaning of the words ratification and decision in a proposed constitutional regulation.
Makiba laid out four options to prepare the way for the tabling that included amending the constitution but also using a sessional order.
A sessional order is essentially a method outlining the manner in which both parties - PNG and Bougainville - will take towards the ratification of the referendum and ultimately the issue of independence.
Makiba has also told Parliament the referendum itself would go to parliament before the end of this year.
Once tabled, MPs will be required to endorse or dismiss the referendum.
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Strong Bougainville interest
A strong contingent of Bougainvillean leaders were in Port Moresby to hear Makiba's speech.
Bougainville Attorney General and Minister for Independence Mission Implementation, Ezekiel Massatt, said he is now much more confident the matter will be resolved satisfactorily compared with a few years ago.
Massatt has also spoken of the need for people across PNG to become familiar with the Bougainville issue because the crisis happened before many of them were born.
He said this would allow young people to make informed decisions when it comes to voting on the ratification.