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A referendum on self-determination for Algeria was held in France on 8 January 1961. [1] Self-determination was approved by 75.0% of voters overall and 69.5% in Algeria. The government reported voter turnout of 92.2%. [2] Other sources claim that two-fifths of those entitled to vote abstained. [3]
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the world's largest Arab country, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries.
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.
The referendum was worded as follows: "Do you approve the bill submitted to the French people by the President of the Republic and concerning the self-determination of the populations of Algeria and the organization of the public authorities in Algeria prior to self-determination?"
Choice | Metropolitan France | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
For | 15,200,073 | 75.3 | 17,447,669 | 75.0 | |
Against | 4,996,474 | 24.7 | 5,817,775 | 25.0 | |
Invalid/blank votes | 594,699 | – | 721,469 | – | |
Total | 20,791,246 | 100 | 23,986,913 | 100 | |
Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
Choice | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
For | 1,749,969 | 69.5 | |||
Against | 767,546 | 30.5 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 109,174 | – | |||
Total | 2,626,689 | 100 | |||
Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
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