Kanak people
Kanak languages are extremely diverse, but French serves as the official language of New Caledonia. There are 28 distinct Kanak languages, as well as many dialects, out of the 1,200 Melanesian languages spoken throughout the Pacific. They are mutually incomprehensible. All are a part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. They all belong to the New Caledonian subgroup – except for Fagauvea, which is a Polynesian language.
2014 New Caledonian legislative election
The main issue at stake in the elections was independence from France. The elected Congress would be responsible for taking decisions on moving towards independence, as agreed in the Nouméa Accord, and an independence referendum will be held during the term of this Congress if there is a three-fifths majority in favour of holding one. However, in the lead up to the elections, the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front claimed that around 6,700 people on the Special Roll had moved to New Caledonia after 1988, and that 2,000 people who should have been on the Special Roll and were eligible to vote in the Territorial elections were not, the two figures equating to around 7% of registered voters. In response, anti-independence groups claimed that 4,000 Kanaks should be removed from the electoral roll, and that taking the issue to court would threaten a return to violence.