2010 Nauruan constitutional referendum

27 February 2010
Do you approve of the proposed law entitled Constitution of Nauru (Referendum Amendments) Bill 2009?
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 1,450 33.04%
No 2,939 66.96%
Valid votes 4,389 98.17%
Invalid or blank votes 82 1.83%
Total votes 4,471 100.00%
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A constitutional referendum was held in Nauru on 27 February 2010.[1] Voters were asked to vote on amendments to the constitution, most notably a change to a directly elected president (instead of one chosen by parliament) and a strengthening of human rights legislation (but also a clarification of the distribution of powers and other, less notable amendments).[2] A two-thirds majority was required for the amendments to pass.[3]

The referendum was part of a large-scale constitutional renewal; the referendum had to be held to approve changes to some especially protected parts of the constitution, while other changes were made by simple parliamentary vote. Any changes would only take effect on the day of the next general election, likely in May/June 2011.[3]

Turnout was 78%,[4] with almost 4,400 votes cast; the constitutional changes were rejected by majority of two thirds, almost 3,000 votes.[5][6] It was considered immediately afterwards whether another referendum might be held at a later time.[7]

Results

Nauruan constitutional referendum, 2010
Choice Votes %
Referendum failed No 2,939 66.96
Yes 1,450 33.04
Valid votes 4,389 98.17
Invalid or blank votes 82 1.83
Total votes 4,471 100.00
Source: Government of Nauru

References

  1. ^ "Nauru Government confident that public will back constitutional reforms". Rnzi.com. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  2. ^ "Stories:Nauru to hold constitutional referendum". Australia Network News. 2010-02-04. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  3. ^ a b Constitutional Review Project Archived 2015-02-11 at the Wayback Machine Parliament of Nauru
  4. ^ Steven Ratuva (2011) The gap between global thinking and local living: Dilemmas of constitutional reform in Nauru The Journal of the Polynesian Society, volume 120, number 3, pp241–268
  5. ^ "Stories:Changes to Nauru's constitution rejected at referendum". Australia Network News. 2010-03-01. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  6. ^ "Nauruans vote against proposed Constitutional Amendments". Rnzi.com. 2010-02-28. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  7. ^ "Nauru leaders disappointed with referendum rebuff". Rnzi.com. 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2010-08-21.


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