A referendum on reforming the electoral system is scheduled to hold in the Falkland Islands (referred to as The Falklands), a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, on Thursday 26 March 2020.

In this referendum, voters will be asked to decide whether or not they want to replace the existing electoral constituencies, Camp and Stanley, which are the two constituencies in the Falkand Islands Legislative Assembly. Camp has 3 members while Stanley has 5 members.

This new referendum proposes one constituency which will serve as a single constituency for the islands.

Why a Referendum for The Falklands?

According to the constitution of the Falkland Islands, any change to the constituencies on the islands must be supported in a referendum by at least two-thirds of those who are registered as electorates in each constituency.

How Did We Get Here?

This is the third time in 18 years that a referendum like this will hold. On 22 November 2001, people of the Falklands were asked if they wanted a single constituency for all of the Islands.

The referendum question was: “Do you agree that there should be a single constituency for the Falkland Islands, with a new voting system for proportional representation?” and it was rejected by over 56.65% of voters. In a similar vote in 2011, 58.78% rejected. Another vote was scheduled to hold in November 2018 but the polling date was moved to 26 March 2020 following the advice of the Executive Council of the Falkland Islands.

Numbers To Note

The Falkland Islands has a population of 2,921 people, with 270 electors in Camp and 1249 electors in Stanley. Average voter turnout is 75.08%.

What is the Referendum Question?

The proposed question to appear on ballot papers as agreed by the Executive council is: ‘Should there be two constituencies, Stanley and Camp, or should there be one constituency for the whole of the Falkland Islands?’

Voters in the Falklands are expected to choose between the following responses:

• There should be one constituency. I support the Single Constituency Bill.
• There should continue to be two constituencies. I do not support the Single Constituency Bill.

Bottomline

If this referendum is approved by over 50% of voters, the new amendments will be implemented in Electoral Ordinance and Constitution in preparation for the next general elections scheduled for November 2021. Electors in future elections would have the opportunity to vote to elect all 8 Members to the Legislative Assembly who would represent all constituencies of the Falkland Islands.