| People take part in a non-binding independence referendum in Kunua Community, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea |
The South Pacific islands of Bougainville have overwhelmingly voted to be independent from Papua New Guinea, the referendum commission said on Wednesday, in a historic poll that will trigger separation negotiations between the two governments.
Almost 98% of the 181,067 votes cast backed independence in the non-binding poll that is part of a peace pact struck in the aftermath of a decade-long war between Bougainville‘s rebel fighters and PNG forces, which ended in 1998.
The referendum gave voters in the island cluster a choice between independence and greater autonomy.
The new country – should it happen – would be small, with a land mass of less than 10,000 sq km (slightly larger than Cyprus, and slightly smaller than Lebanon).