The Bougainville Referendum: Law, Administration and Politics

This book presents an analysis of legal, administrative and political issues arising from the complex arrangements for the conduct of the Bougainville referendum. The first purpose of this book is to promote a better understanding of the referendum arrangements, the second purpose is to consider what may be needed to ensure that the referendum is free and fair and the third is to consider the impacts on peacebuilding involved in including a deferred referendum as part of a long-term peace process. The book is organised into two main parts, the first dealing mainly with historical, contextual and background matters. The second part examines the Bougainville referendum arrangements in some detail, their origins, intent, operation and implementation to April 2019. Chapter nine examines matters likely to arise after the referendum, including determination of the outcome, making decisions on its implementation and determining whether the referendum has been not only free and fair but is also a legitimate exercise of the will of those who were entitled to vote. A set of legal documents containing the key provisions on the referendum has been compiled and made available through a data commons link.