2011 Falkland Islands electoral system referendum

A referendum on reforming the voting system was held in the Falkland Islands on 3 November 2011.[1] Voters were asked "Do you want a single constituency for the whole of the Islands?"[1] The proposal required a two-third majority in both of the islands' constituencies,[2] but was rejected by 58.78% of voters overall; in Stanley it was narrowly approved by 50.2% of voters but in Camp it was widely rejected, with 84% voting against.[2] Turnout was 70% in Camp and just 39% in Stanley.[2]

Falkland Islands
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the Falkland Islands

Background

Under section 27 of the Falkland Islands Constitution, any change to the constituencies on the islands must be supported in a referendum by at least two-thirds of the vote.[3]

The proposal to create a single constituency for the islands was a response to Camp being heavily over-represented in the Legislative Assembly, electing three of the eight seats (38% of the total), whilst the remaining five seats were elected from Stanley (62.5%).[1] In 2011 there were 262 voters (17%) in Camp and 1,315 (83%) in Stanley, meaning the current arrangements provided for one MLA for every 87 voters in Camp and one for every 263 in Stanley.[4]

Originally the two constituencies had had equal representation, but had been changed as the population of Stanley increased.[2] The proposal had already been put to voters in a referendum in 2001, and had been rejected.[1] A second referendum was approved by the Assembly on 26 August 2011 by a vote of four to three.[1]

Results

The question posed by the referendum was:

Do you want a single constituency for the whole of the Islands?[4]

Falkland Islands electoral system referendum, 2011
Choice Votes %
No 405 58.78
Yes 284 41.22
Total votes 689 100.00
Registered voters and turnout 1,571 43.86
Source: [1]

Results by constituency
RegionNo voteNo %Yes voteYes %
Stanley constituency 253 49.8 255 50.2
Camp constituency 152 84.0 29 16.0

References
  1. Falkland-Inseln, 3. November 2011 : Wahl in einem einzigen Wahlkreis Direct Democracy
  2. Falkland Islands voters overwhelmingly reject single constituency proposal MercoPress, 4 November 2011
  3. "Official text of the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008" (PDF). falklands.gov.fk. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  4. Voting arrangements for Referendum of 3 November 2011 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Government of the Falkland Islands
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