Bougainville votes for independence from Papua New Guinea

A man raises his hands as he prepares to cast a vote in Buka, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Photo / AP

The South Pacific region of Bougainville has voted in a referendum declared on Wednesday to become the world's newest nation by gaining independence from Papua New Guinea.

Bougainville Referendum Commission Chairman Bertie Ahern was cheered when he announced the result in a public hall in the semi-autonomous province.

The referendum is nonbinding, and independence would then need to be negotiated between leaders from Bougainville and Papua New Guinea. The final say would then go to lawmakers in the Papua New Guinea Parliament.

Around 85% of eligible voters cast more than 181,000 ballots in two weeks of voting.

The referendum is a key part of a 2001 peace agreement that ended a civil war in which at least 15,000 people died in the cluster of islands to the east of the Papua New Guinea mainland.

The violence in Bougainville began in the late 1980s, triggered by conflict over an enormous opencast copper mine at Panguna. The mine was a huge export earner for Papua New Guinea, but many in Bougainville felt they received no benefit and resented the pollution and disruption of their traditional way of living.

The mine has remained shut since the conflict. Some believe it could provide a revenue source for Bougainville should it become independent.

The process of becoming a separate nation could take years to achieve.

- AP