Independence rejected

New Caledonia votes against independence from France

Unofficial results show more than 96 percent voted against independence in the third and last such plebiscite under the 1998 Noumea Accord.

Turnout was just under 44 percent, down from more than 85 percent last year.

Pro-independence parties had called on their supporters not to vote after France refused to postpone the referendum because of the impact of the pandemic on the indigenous Kanak population.

The customary Kanak Senate had declared Sunday to be a day of mourning for the 280 people who died in the pandemic.