布干维尔独立公投再次推迟,将于2019年11月23日举行。
SYDNEY (Reuters) - An independence referendum for the Pacific island of Bougainville has been delayed again by the governments of the island and Papua New Guinea (PNG) but will be held this year, the referendum commission said on Monday.
Voting in the referendum will now open on November 23, having been pushed back from a revised date of October 17 that was announced in March.
Under a peace agreement signed after a nine-year civil war with the PNG mainland ended in 1998, Bougainville has until mid-2020 to hold the referendum, which had originally been scheduled for June.
“The referendum will be held this year,” Bougainville Referendum Commission chair Bertie Ahern said in a statement after the two governments had decided on Friday that extra time was needed to create a more credible electoral roll.
“We will use these precious few weeks wisely, and we ask for public support to make this referendum roll as inclusive as possible and one that people can trust,” said Ahern, a former prime minister of Ireland.