Voter Information

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Like elections, the referendum had polling places in every Ward, a ballot paper, ballot boxes, polling officials, scrutineers and observers. Special voting ink ensured everyone voted one time only.

249 polling teams attended 829 polling locations: every ward in Bougainville, all provinces of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands (Honiara and Gizo) and Australia (Brisbane and Cairns).

Enrolment

  • 207,213 voters appeared on the Referendum Roll. This reflected an increase of about 20% on the 2015 ABG roll.
  • The roll had approximately equal men and women and 25% were first-time voters.
  • Total resident Bougainvilleans – 194,498
  • Non-resident Bougainvilleans – 12,715

Result

  • 181,067 votes were cast (87.4% voter turnout)
  • Independence: 176,928 votes (97.71%)
  • Greater autonomy: 3,043 votes (1.6%)
  • Informal: 1,096 votes (0.6%)