Referendums have been in the news lately — be it the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum held on September 25, 2017 or the Catalonian on that was held on October 1. After a resounding ‘Yes’ for an independent state, Catalonia is set to declare independence on October 9.
The United Kingdom held one 2016 for what is now known as ‘Brexit’, while the Scots held a referendum on whether to exit the United Kingdom in 2014, with demand for a second one coming in strong. New Zealand even held one to decide if they need to change their flag, while Turkey had one to decide on constitutional amendments.
History is peppered with instances of referendums on independence, statehood, constitutions and more, especially in the 20th century. Here are some of the lesser-known facts surrounding this ‘direct-democracy’ tool.
Did you know?
Tiny Puerto Rico has had five referendums so far on the question of statehood.
Though Puerto Rico is a part of U.S. territory, the island does not have representation in the Congress — meaning they do not have electors who can vote in the presidential and vice-presidential elections, leaving the Puerto Ricans without a say in who runs the country.
Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz points to a Puerto Rican flag outside the government center at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
The very first referendum was held in 1967, with the voters being given the choice of Commonwealth Status, Independence, or Statehood. The voters chose the Commonwealth option in 1967 and 1993 but after being presented without that option in 1998, went for the ‘None of the Above’ option in the third vote. More than 60% of Puerto Ricans who voted chose Statehood in the 2012 referendum, choosing to remain a part of the United States. That number rose significantly in 2017, with more than 90% of those who voted opting for Statehood.
Did you know?
Quebec wanted independence from Canada, twice
Quebec, the only French-speaking province of Canada’s 13 provinces, has an active secessionist movement. The province wanted sovereignty and independence from Canada on the basis that their unique culture and Francophone identity might be assimilated by the rest of Canada. Both referendums, held in 1980 and 1995, failed as the voters voted to remain a part of Canada.
Members of a crowd wave Quebec flags before the St. Jean Baptiste show on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Canada on Saturday June 23, 2012.
Did you know?
Liberia is the first African republic to have self-proclaimed independence
And it did so through the Liberian Independence referendum in 1846.
The Republic of Liberia actually began as a settlement of African-American people, both those who were freed from slavery and were born free. The country, which survived the “Scramble for Africa” held a referendum in 1846 in which about 52% of voters opted for independence. The country then declared its independence the following year, becoming the first African republic to do so.
Did you know?
India has had six referendums so far
Of the six, three were held during Independence. Sylhet, then a small Bengali speaking Muslim-majority city surrounded by a Hindu-majority Assam opted to join Bangladesh in 1947. Similarly, the North Western Frontier Province, what is today known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, too opted to join Pakistan.
A 32 member delegation of the Sikkim Assembly led by Kazi Lhendup Dorji (2nd from right) called on the Prime MInister, Smt Indira Gandhi in New Delhi on July 09, 1974.
Junagadh, on the other hand, was a Hindu-majority princely state surrounded by India on all sides, headed by a nawab who wanted to secede to Pakistan. Pakistan even accepted the secession at one point, but after an outcry from the people, the province was annexed to India and a plebiscite held — in which a majority wanted to join India.
India’s next two referendums pertained to the union territories. Pondicherry joined India without much fuss on the referendum front in 1954 — the French territory had an extended freedom movement but an overwhelming majority of the elected representatives opted to join India after that.
The question of Portuguese Goa was knottier. Once Portugal decided to pack up, a Goa with a strong Konkan majority was given the option of either being absorbed into Maharashtra or becoming an union territory. Faced with being assimilated into a strong Marathi community, Goa chose the latter in a referendum in January 1967 — but not before a lot of drama between the two camps.
The final referendum in 1975 brought Sikkim into India’s fold. India and Sikkim had an arrangement that let India handle the defence and foreign affairs for the tiny monarchy, while staying out of its internal affairs. The 1975 vote was called by Sikkim’s elected Prime Minister Lhendup Dorji, whose government was in favour of abolishing the monarchy. A majority of the Sikkimese supported that decision and the State officially joined India.
