French Guiana, Martinique reject autonoour proposal

Your Ad Here

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique – Voters in Martinique and French Guiana overwhelmingly rejected a proposal Sunday to give local government more autonoour while remaining a part of France.Election officials in Martinique said 80 percent of voters rejected the plan, with 55 percent participation, according to preliminary results. Some votes remained to be counted, but officials did not expect the results to change significantly.In French Guiana, 70 percent voted "no," with 48 percent turnout.Some Martinique officials viewed the proposed autonoour as an opportunity for the Caribbean island to make decisions in areas such as development, education and employment. They argued the remote French government did not know what was best for the island."Martinique and French Guiana missed a date with history and passed alongside a reform that would have allowed them to better understand their future," said Claude Lise, president of Martinique's General Council, one of two legislative bodies.But opponents — including leaders of the Progressive Martinique Party founded by the late Aime Cesaire, a renowned poet and politician who long supported autonoour — said the referendum was neither the opportunity nor the solution to emerge from tough economic times. An estimated 50,000 people are unemployed on Martinique, which is home to 400,000 inhabitants.The ballot measure in each of the two French Caribbean departments called for giving local government more administrative leeway. French Presidenticolas Sarkozy would have determined the extent of the autonomy.Martinique legislator Alfred Almont said voters were correct to reject the referendum because the island could not accept a proposal without some guarantee of what autonoour it would receive.The proposed Article 74 would have replaced Article 73 of the constitution, which has governed the political status of Martinique and French Guiana as French departments for 64 years.The referendum was a first for French Guiana, while Martinique rejected a similar measure six years ago.With Sunday's measure failing, voters will now decide Jan. 24 whether to support the creation of a local authority that will combine the existing general and regional councils that govern each department.Jaqueline Manger, a Martinique resident who voted against the proposal, said Article 73 provided assurance that the island would continue to develop socially and economically."We would like a change, but We don't think we are ready yet. We don't trust the people who lead the regional council and the general council," she said.The referendum came one year after violent strikes paralyzed the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe for more than a month as union leaders demanded higher wages and lower prices. Business leaders agreed to several changes, but some unrest continues.Sarkozy suggested the referendum last June following the strikes, saying the status of France's overseas departments was based on an "unfair, obscure and biased" system.Guadeloupe did not participate in the referendum.