1985 New Caledonian legislative election

New Caledonia 1984 1988 All 46 seats in the Congress 24 29 September 1985 RPCR Jacques Lafleur 34 25 52.00 Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front Jean-Marie Tjibaou new 16 28.76 National Front Jean-Marie Le PenLeader of the party in France 1 3 7.37 Kanak Socialist Liberation 6 1 6.43 RPC new 1 1.48 Early legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 29 September 1985.Vitalk win for Kanaks... but will 'fortress Noumea' open its doors Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1985, pp13–14 They were called after the 1984 elections had been boycotted by the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and were marred by violence that continued for several weeks after election day. Following an agreement reached between the French government and pro- and anti-independence groups, New Caledonia was split into four regions, each with its own Assembly, with the members of the four assemblies uniting to form the territorial Congress, which replaced the Territorial Assembly. The FLNKS won a majority in three of the four regional assemblies, with the Caldoche-backed Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (RPCR) won a large majority in the Nouméa region. However, with the South region having by far the largest population, the RCPR received 61% of the total vote across the territory and won 26 of the 46 seats in Congress, with the FLNKS winning 16. Campaign Several French prominent politicians visited the territory during the election campaign to support the RPCR, including Jacques Chirac and Francois Leotard of the Rally for the Republic, Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front and Gaston Flosse, president of French Polynesia. Conduct Although election day was violence-free, a bomb was detonated at the Land Office and Office for the Development of the Interior and the Islands in Nouméa on the day before. Results File:New Caledonia Congress 1985.svg Rally for Caledonia in the Republic 37148 25 –9 Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front 20545 16 New National Front 5263 3 +2 Kanak Socialist Liberation 4594 1 –5 Political Organisation of the Alliances of Opao 2317 0 New Peace and Custom Rally 1058 1 New New Caledonia 516 0 New 1042 +4 89906 ClarkAlan Clark (1987) "Conflict formal and informal: Elections in New Caledonia, 1984–1986" Pacific Studies, volume 10, number 3 By region PartyCentreLoyalty IslandsNorthNouméa/SouthVotes%SeatsVotes%SeatsVotes%SeatsVotes%SeatsRally for Caledonia in the Republic5,00341.8642,64028.0422,89023.33226,61570.6217Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front5,43445.4754,90852.1347,38359.6162,8207.481National Front–––––––––5,26313.963Kanak Socialist Liberation7886.5901,86719.8317095.7201,2303.260Political Organisation of the Alliances of Opao7266.070–––3462.7901,2453.300Peace and Custom Rally––––––1,0588.541–––New Caledonia–––––––––5161.370Invalid/blank votes110––570––76––286––Total12,06110099,985100712,462100937,97510021Registered voters/turnout14,26084.58–11,80684.58–15,15782.22–48,68378.00–Source: Clark Aftermath The regional assemblies convened on 6 October to elect their presidents; Léopold Jorédié (FLNKS) was elected in the Central region, Yeiwéné Yeiwéné (FLNKS) in the Loyalty Islands, Jean-Marie Tjibaou (FLNKS) in North region and Jean Lèques (RPCR) in the South region. Two days later Dick Ukeiwé was elected President of the Congress, defeating Tjibaou by 29 votes to 13.Caledonia councils elect leaders Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1985, p7 Notes References New Caledonia Category:Elections in New Caledonia Legislative New Caledonia