Indigenous Vote in Australia: Historic Referendum for Political Representation

2023-10-14 07:01:53

In Australia, a vote is currently being taken to give the indigenous population more political say. In the most recent polls, a majority of 56 percent were once morest it.

Since Saturday morning (local time), Australia has been voting in a historic referendum on whether the country’s indigenous people should have a greater political say in the future. According to the latest polls, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government’s plan is in danger of being over: a clear majority of 56 percent declared that they would vote “no”.

The conservative opposition in particular has raised massive opposition to the plans in recent months and has changed opinion in the country following the majority of the population had initially leaned towards a “yes”.

The so-called voice referendum is regarding whether the Aborigines should have a say in parliament in the future, as enshrined in the constitution. If successful, a body elected by them would advise Parliament on issues that directly affect indigenous people. But it would be up to the MPs whether they listen to the advice. “This is not a radical proposal,” Albanese said Saturday. “This is a hand of friendship extended from the first Australians to every Australian, which only asks that it be taken in a spirit of reconciliation.”

Extremely high voter turnout expected

Around 18 million people are called to the polls, including 530,000 indigenous people. There was an extremely high level of participation. The electoral commission said that almost half of those eligible to vote had already voted in advance. There were sometimes long queues in front of the polling stations on Saturday.

The Aborigines are considered the oldest surviving culture in the world and have populated the continent for more than 65,000 years. After the colonization of Australia, they were not granted civil rights until 1967. Today around four percent of the approximately 25 million Australians identify as indigenous. The gap in society is large and the indigenous people are still discriminated once morest today.

A double majority is necessary for a constitutional amendment: Not only would more than half of all voters vote “yes,” the majority of the six states would also have to be in favor. The polling stations are open until 6:00 p.m. (9:00 a.m. CEST). If the outcome is close, it might take days before the official result is announced.

1697276632
#Vote #Indigenous #people #referendum #Australia #risk #failure