The Bougainville Referendum: An Overview of the Arrangements - MAR 2016

This paper provides an overview of origins, intentions, sources, and main features of the constitutional arrangements for the 'Referendum on the future political status of Bougainville' (the Bougainville Referendum). It must include a 'choice of separate independence for Bougainville', and must be held before mid-2020. The paper also outlines work done so far to prepare for the Referendum, and identifies and discusses major steps required to prepare, conduct, and deal with the outcomes of,the Referendum. A referendum is a process for making decisions, mainly about issues of great importance. The categories of issues dealt with in referendums (or referenda) is extensive. They include: approving new constitutions (as in Kenya in 2010), or amendments to existing constitutions (as under Australia's Constitution); proposing or even making new laws (as in Switzerland and with citizens initiative referenda in some states of the United States); or resolving major divisive issues (as in Britain's planned June 2016 referendum on exiting the European Union). Since 1990 over 50 referenda have been held on independence for a country or part of a country. Usually such referenda are conducted as part of efforts to resolve disputes, often (though not always) violent conflicts. Examples include referenda on: Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia, 1993; Quebec's independence from Canada in 1995; East Timor's independence from Indonesia, 1999; Scotland's Independence from the United Kingdom, in 2014. Of course, issues about sovereignty can be particularly sensitive and divisive, and are often difficult to prepare for and manage.