New Caledonia's Labour Party says it will decide after the municipal elections in March whether to join the campaign for next September's referendum on independence from France.
Ballot box used for New Caledonia's independence referendum Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel
The party, which now holds only one seat in Congress, stayed away from last year's referendum.
The Labour Party described the 2018 referendum - in which over 56 percent voted for the status quo - as an electoral farce.
The party's re-elected president said its participation in the next plebiscite depends on whether the pro-independence FLNKS umbrella group resumes its founding principles of seeking the territory's liberation.
Louis Kotra Uregei told local media that independence in partnership with France as sought by some FLNKS members is a bad idea and could lead to the installation of a neo-colonial regime.
He has also been dismissive of the concept of a common destiny, saying the only destiny people have in common is freedom.
