Surprise in the election of the President of the Congress of New Caledonia: the pro-independence Roch Wamytan, re-elected every year since 2019, lost on Thursday 29 August to Veylma Falaeo, of the small Oceanic Awakening (EO) party. The first woman to hold this office, thanks to the transfer of votes from non-independence activists.
Roch Wamytan came in well ahead in the first round, with 26 votes, compared to 19 for Naïa Wateou, candidate of the Loyalists and the Rassemblement-Les Républicains (non-independence), six for Philippe Dunoyer (Caledonia group, non-independence) and only three for the future president, Veylma Falaeo, 42 years old.
But during the second round, the non-independence candidates withdrew and voted for the EO representative, who obtained 28 of the 54 votes in Congress. Oceanian Awakening, created in 2019 to defend the interests of the 22,000 Wallisians and Futunians living in the archipelago, won the provincial elections that year, winning three seats in Congress.
Rated as “kingmaker” – pro-independence and non-pro-independence parties that did not have an absolute majority: the EO had formed a group for five years “Oceanic Majority” with the separatists, which was destroyed on Thursday.
The separatists undermined by divisions
Although the movement has recently adopted a pro- “A foreign partnership with France is planned”l’“Awakening Oceanian wants to be “neither, nor”, neither pro-independence nor non-independence.” Since 2019, Roch Wamytan, 73, a veteran of Caledonian politics from the ranks of the UC (Caledonian Union), was re-elected to the presidency of Congress thanks to the three elected representatives of the Oceanic Awakening.
In a speech after the vote, Veylma Falaeo explained that her party had chosen “to affirm and demonstrate the existence of the middle way in this House”then accusing the separatists of having favoured the fight for independence to the detriment of social progress.
In a statement, the Loyalist group, the main non-independence group in Congress, welcomed the result of the vote, estimating that for five years “Roch Wamytan’s presidency has[vait] “seriously weakened the institution of Congress, multiplying controversial decisions and unacceptable compromises, particularly with Azerbaijan.”.
In April, the elected separatist Omayra Naisseline signed a memorandum of understanding with the Assembly of the Caucasian country, ruled with an iron fist by the Aliev family since its independence. A signed document “at my request”Roch Wamytan took office, sparking outrage among the opposition and in Paris.
The loss of the congress comes at the worst possible time for the separatists, who are undermined by divisions. On Wednesday, two of the four members of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) announced that they would not participate in the Front’s congress scheduled for this weekend.
