Voting has opened in the first elections in New Caledonia since 2019 | Election News

New Zealand broadcaster RNZ said around 2,500 police officers had been deployed to secure and monitor polling stations.

Polls have opened in New Caledonia for its first elections since 2019, with heavy police presence at polling stations on the French-controlled Pacific island nation.

On Sunday morning, about 2,500 police officers were deployed to secure and monitor polling stations on election day, which began at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday (21:00 GMT Saturday), New Zealand news agency RNZ said.

It said voters were already in a long queue outside the polling station at the Hotel de Ville in the capital Noumea, before voting began.

About 192,000 voters will elect 76 councilors in three regional assemblies: 40 in the southern region, 22 in the northern region, and 14 in the Loyalty Islands.

From there, 54 of those elected will be members of the Pacific Islands Assembly – the main governing body in the region, authorized to issue local laws.

However, the elections, originally scheduled for 2024, have been delayed as the island struggles with violent insurgencies between the Kanak Indians and those loyal to France. It is expected to be very important in the preparation of future negotiations with France regarding the sector.

New Caledonia, in the southwest Pacific, about 1,500 kilometers east of Australia, has about 270,000 people, including 41 percent Melanesian Kanak and 24 percent European, mostly French.

In 1863, New Caledonia was colonized by France and became an overseas territory in 1946. There has been a long-standing dispute over France’s role in its affairs.

Sunday’s election comes after the main pro-independence group rejected a deal with France that was meant to bring stability to the rest of the world.

The treaty would have created the state of Caledonia and established a protected Caledonian state under French law; however, it would rule out any future referendums on independence.

So far, three referendums have been held on the future of independence – in 2018, 2020, and 2021 – and all three have returned a majority in favor of the French territory.

Independent groups boycotted the third vote, which was held during the COVID-19 pandemic.