1977 Afars and Issas independence referendum

Last updated

An independence referendum was held in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas on 8 May 1977 alongside an election for a Constituent Assembly. Previous referendums were held in 1958 and 1967, [1] [2] which rejected independence. This referendum backed independence from France. [3] The territory became independent as Djibouti on 27 June 1977.

The result is celebrated annually on Independence Day on 27 June.

Results

ChoiceVotes%
Independence80,86499.75
Remain a territory in the French Republic1990.25
Total81,063100.00
Valid votes81,06399.04
Invalid/blank votes7840.96
Total votes81,847100.00
Registered voters/turnout105,96277.24
Source: Nohlen et al.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comoros</span> Country in the Indian Ocean

The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population, and the official state religion, is Sunni Islam. As a member of the Arab League, it is the only country in the Arab world which is entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Comoros proclaimed their independence on July 6, 1975. It is also a member state of the African Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Indian Ocean Commission. The country has three official languages: Chi Comori, French and Arabic.

Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Somalia to the southeast, Eritrea and the Red Sea to the north and northwest, Ethiopia to the west and south, and the Gulf of Aden to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Djibouti</span>

Politics of Djibouti takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly. The party system and legislature are dominated by the socialist People's Rally for Progress. In April 2010, a new constitutional amendment was approved. The President serves as both the head of state and head of government, and is directly elected for single six-year term. Government is headed by the President, who appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the latter. There is also a 65-member chamber of deputies, where representatives are popularly elected for terms of five years. Administratively, the country is divided into five regions and one city, with eleven additional district subdivisions. Djibouti is also part of various international organisations, including the United Nations and Arab League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Territory of the Afars and the Issas</span> French former colony in Djibouti (1967–1977)

The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas was the name given to present-day Djibouti between 1967 and 1977, while it was still an overseas territory of France. The area was formerly known as French Somaliland. Its name derives from the Afar people of Djibouti and the Somali Issa clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Somalia</span> Area in East Africa where ethnic Somalis mostly live

Greater Somalia is a concept to unite all ethnic Somalis comprising the regions in or near the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited. The territory historically encompassed British Jubaland Province, British Somali Coast Protectorate, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, the Somali Region in Ethiopia, the Northern Frontier District in Kenya, and the intra-46th meridian east territories. At the present, it encompasses Somalia proper, Jubaland, southern Djibouti, the Somali Region and Dire Dawa in Ethiopia, and the Garissa, Wajir and Mandera Counties in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Benin</span>

Elections in Benin take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters, with elections organised by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the Comoros</span> Political elections for public offices in the Comoros

Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations list of non-self-governing territories</span> Type of territory defined by the United Nations Charter

Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to be "non-self-governing". Chapter XI of the UN Charter also includes a "Declaration on Non-Self-Governing Territories" that the interests of the occupants of dependent territories are paramount and requires member states of the United Nations in control of such territories to submit annual information reports concerning the development of those territories. Since 1946, the UNGA has maintained a list of non-self governing territories under member states' control. Since its inception, dozens of territories have been removed from the list, typically when they attained independence or internal self-government, while other territories have been added as new administering countries joined the United Nations or the General Assembly reassessed the status of certain territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Community</span> 1958–1995 association of former French colonies

The French Community was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial empire in 1946. While the Community remained formally in existence until 1995, when the French Parliament officially abolished it, it had effectively ceased to exist and function by the end of 1960, by which time all the African members had declared their independence and left it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State of Somaliland</span> 1960 short-lived state in the Horn of Africa

The State of Somaliland was a short-lived independent country in the territory of present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland. It existed on the territory of former British Somaliland for five days between 26 June 1960 and 1 July 1960, when it merged with the formerly Italian administered Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djibouti</span> Country in the Horn of Africa

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).

Front de Libération de la Côte des Somalis was a nationalist organization, and later a guerrilla group, in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in present-day Djibouti. It competes with the Djibouti Liberation Movement (MLD), supported by Ethiopia. The FLCS was recognized as a national liberation movement by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which participated in its financing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawaba</span> Political party in Niger

The Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress–Sawaba is a political party in Niger, founded as the Nigerien Democratic Union in 1954. The original party, founded by Nigerien Progressive Party (PPN) co-leader Djibo Bakary when he was expelled from the PPN. In the mid-1950s it created a broad coalition led by urban leftists but forged of conservative rural notables, especially from Hausa areas, which dominated the nascent Nigerien independence movement. In this period it was renamed Mouvement Socialiste Africain–Sawaba, and then simply Sawaba. In pushing for complete independence from France in a 1958 referendum, the party fractured. At independence in 1960 it found itself in opposition and outlawed by Niger's first president, Hamani Diori. From exile, the party attempted an abortive guerrilla campaign in the mid-1960s, and then largely disappeared. Its leadership returned to Niger following the 1974 military coup, but soon found themselves arrested, in exile, or marginalised. Following the return of democracy in 1991, the now elderly Bakary re-founded the party as UDFP–Sawaba. In the 1993 elections it took only a small numbers of votes. Within the year the party had split, with a new faction (UDFR–Sawaba) joining the government coalition. Despite Bakary's death in 1998 and their continued electoral underachievement, both parties holding the Sawaba name continue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rico statehood movement</span> Movement to make Puerto Rico the 51st state of the United States

The statehood movement in Puerto Rico aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States acquired in 1898 following the Spanish–American War, making it "the oldest colony in the modern world". As of 2019, the population of Puerto Rico is 3.2 million, around half the average state population and higher than that of 20 U.S. states. Competing options for the future political status of Puerto Rico include maintaining its current status, becoming fully independent, or becoming a freely associated state. Puerto Rico has held six referendums on the topic. These are non-binding, as the power to grant statehood lies with the US Congress. The most recent referendum was in November 2020, with a majority (52.52%) of those who voted opting for statehood; however, only 0.7 million of the 3.2 million Puerto Ricans who live in the archipelago voted for statehood

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 Comorian independence referendum</span>

An independence referendum was held in the Comoros on 22 December 1974. The overall result was a strong "yes" vote, with 94.57% of voters voting for independence and almost all the "no" votes being cast in Mayotte, where there was a majority for remaining under French control. In contrast, on Mohéli only five out of 6,059 votes were against independence. Voter turnout was 93.3%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 French Somaliland independence referendum</span>

An independence referendum was held in French Somaliland on 19 March 1967. It was ordered by then President of France, General Charles de Gaulle, in response to rioting and demonstrations upon an official visit he made to the territory the year before. Voters rejected independence from France by a 22-point margin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election</span>

An election for the Constituent Assembly was held in the French Territory of the Afars and Issas on 8 May 1977 alongside a referendum on independence. The elections were boycotted by the Djibouti Liberation Movement, the National Union for Independence and the Popular Liberation Movement, resulting in the People's Rally for Independence winning all 65 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Guinean constitutional referendum</span> Referendum rejecting joining the French Community

A constitutional referendum was held in Guinea on 28 September 1958 as part of a wider referendum across the French Union on whether to adopt the new French Constitution. If the territory voted to accept the new constitution, it would then have four months to decide whether to

  1. Preserve the status of overseas territory.
  2. Become a state of the French Community.
  3. Become an overseas department.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political history of Zimbabwe</span> History of politics in Zimbabwe and Rhodesia

The modern political history of Zimbabwe starts with the arrival of white people to what was dubbed Southern Rhodesia in the 1890s. The country was initially run by an administrator appointed by the British South Africa Company. The prime ministerial role was first created in October 1923, when the country achieved responsible government, with Sir Charles Coghlan as its first Premier. The third Premier, George Mitchell, renamed the post Prime Minister in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New Caledonian independence referendum</span>

An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 November 2018. Voters were given the choice of remaining part of France or becoming an independent country.

References

  1. Kevin Shillington, Encyclopedia of African history, (CRC Press: 2005), p.360.
  2. American Universities Field Staff, Northeast Africa series, Volume 15, Issue 1, (American Universities Field Staff.: 1968), p.3.
  3. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p322 ISBN   0-19-829645-2