A referendum on political status was held in the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
on 10–11 March 2013.
The
Falkland Islanders were asked whether or not they supported the continuation of their status as an
Overseas Territory of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in view of
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
's call for negotiations on the
islands' sovereignty.
On a turnout of 92%, 99.8% voted to remain a British territory, with only three votes against. Had the islanders rejected the continuation of their current status, a second referendum on possible alternatives would have been held.
Brad Smith, the leader of the international observer group, announced that the referendum was free and fair and executed in accordance with international standards and international laws.
History
Background
Negotiations over the sovereignty of the islands took place between Argentina and the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, but no agreement was ever reached. In 1982 the
Argentine military junta, which ruled Argentina at the time,
invaded and
occupied the islands, beginning the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
at the end of which the islands came back under British control. Since the war, Argentina has continued to call for the resumption of negotiations, but the United Kingdom refuses such requests, stating that the Falkland Islanders have the right to
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
.
On the fourth anniversary of the start of the war, the Falkland Islands Association and the Marplan Institute conducted the
Falkland Island Sovereignty Survey of all registered voters on the islands, the result of which showed that 96.45% of the islanders supported remaining a British territory. Eight years later, in an Argentine-inspired poll, 87% of the islanders rejected any form of discussion of sovereignty in any circumstances, preferring to remain British.
Recent tensions
Tensions over the status of the islands began to increase with approach of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war and the decision of the Falkland Islands government to start
oil exploration in Falklands territorial waters. This led to the
government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...
banning
Falklands flagged ships and vessels linked to the Falklands' oil industry from docking at Argentine ports. The Argentine government also began a diplomatic campaign, calling on several international groups to support the resumption of negotiations, gaining support from organisations such as the
Union of South American Nations and the
Rio Group.
In 2011 the
Argentine Defence minister,
Arturo Puricelli, stated that the Falkland Islanders were kept as "hostages" on the islands and later suggested that the British military "is the only element that upholds the usurpation of that part of our national territory". This led to the
Governor of the Falkland Islands,
Nigel Haywood, proposing a referendum to see whether islanders want to remain British or not "so we can solve the issue once and for all".
Announcement and responses
On 12 June 2012,
Gavin Short, a Member of the
Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, announced the intention of the Falkland Islands Government to hold a referendum in the first half of 2013, saying that:
He made the announcement during a visit to the islands by Foreign Office Minister
Jeremy Browne to mark the 30th anniversary of the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
. Browne supported the holding of the referendum, calling it a "truly significant moment", saying that "It will give the Falkland Islands people the opportunity to send a clear message... that the Islanders, and they alone are masters of their fate."
British Prime Minister
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
said that his Government supported the holding of the referendum and would "respect and defend" the result.
The Argentine government said the outcome of the referendum would not affect the country's claim to the islands.
Daniel Filmus, chairman of the
Argentine Senate
The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina.
Overview
The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...
Foreign Affairs committee, said it "does not change at all the Argentine position",
while
Guillermo Carmona, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Argentina's
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, said "This has no value at all since Argentina rejects the possibility of self-determination for an implanted population, such as the implanted British population in the Malvinas".
At the
2012 G-20 Mexico summit Cameron confronted Argentine President
Christina Fernandez de Kirchner and called on her to respect the referendum, while she said that the issue should be resolved in line with
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
resolution 40/21 November 1985.
President Kirchner had earlier refused an invitation from the Falkland Islands Government to speak with a delegation of islanders.
On 28 November 2012, it was reported that Argentina had launched a campaign to "undermine the legitimacy" of the referendum.
This consisted of dissuading British politicians from acting as observers in the referendum, and sending two diplomats on a tour of the Caribbean and Africa to argue for Argentina's claim to the islands and convince governments of the "inconvenience" of sending observers to monitor the referendum.
During a visit to London on 6 February 2013 the Argentine Foreign minister,
Hector Timerman, claimed that the Falkland Islanders "do not exist" as such, they are British citizens in disputed islands.
Referendum details
The current political status of the Falkland Islands is that of an
Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. The Islands are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom being responsible for defence and foreign affairs. Under Chapter 1 of the
Falkland Islands Constitution, the people of the Falkland Islands have the right to self-determination. The referendum was called following Argentina's calls for negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and was undertaken to consult the people regarding their views on the political status of the Falkland Islands.
The final wording of the question was proposed by the
Legislative Assembly in October 2012 and adopted by the
Executive Council on 21 November 2012.
The question posed by the referendum was:
In order to vote in the referendum, electors had to be resident in the islands, aged 18 or over and have
Falkland Islands status. According to the 2012 census, 11% of the electorate were not born in either the Falkland Islands or the UK; this included 18 Argentine-born electors. Polls were open from 10:00 to 18:00
FKST (
UTC−3) on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 March 2013 in the two constituencies of the islands (
Stanley and
Camp).
Observers
Following the announcement of the referendum, British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Jeremy Browne, said that the Falkland Islands Government would invite independent international observers to verify the outcome of the referendum.
The Referendum International Observation Mission during the referendum was led by Brad Smith from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and included representatives from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Following the declaration of the results, Smith announced "the international observation mission has concluded that the voting process was executed in accordance with international standards and local laws. The process was technically sound, with a systematic adherence to established voting procedures... It is our finding that the Falkland Islands referendum process was free and fair, reflecting the democratic will of the voters of the Falkland Islands."
Results
The results were announced by
Keith Padgett, the
Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands, at 22:40 in Stanley Town Hall.
The high vote to remain a British territory was widely expected, with even the small Argentine population on the islands saying they would vote "Yes".
Out of the 1,518 ballots cast, only three voters were against keeping the islands' current status. Turnout was over 90% with 1,650 islanders eligible to vote in a population of 2,841.
It was speculated by a reporter that there may have been valid reasons to vote "no" besides a wish to be under Argentine rule. The question posed was: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?". There was one blank and one invalid vote, the latter coming from a voter who both ticked the Yes box and crossed the No one. Despite recognising the intent for a yes vote, the officials considered it invalid, as the rules written directly above on the ballot clearly forbade making signs in both boxes. Around twenty to thirty "doubtful" votes with signs others than ticks or crosses in the yes box were examined during the count and deemed valid yes votes.
Shortly after the vote was announced several islanders gathered in Victory Green, in the centre of
Stanley, to celebrate the result.
Reactions
Following the declaration,
British Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
said "the Falkland Islanders have spoken so clearly about their future, and now other countries right across the world, I hope, will respect and revere this very, very clear result."
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner rejected the result and described the referendum as a "parody", saying "It is as if a consortium of squatters had voted on whether to continue illegally occupying a building."
On 18 April 2013, U.S. Congressman
Mario Díaz-Balart introduced a resolution to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
calling on the
United States Government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
to officially recognise the referendum result. The resolution was cosponsored by 18
Republican and 7
Democratic members of the House and was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs without a vote.
See also
*
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government ...
*
1995 Quebec referendum
*
2002 Gibraltar sovereignty referendum
References
External links
*
{{Falkland Islands elections
Referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
Falkland
Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Referendums in the Falkland Islands
Sovereignty referendums
Falkland