Falkland Island residents pass referendum
- 11 years ago
Residents of the Falkland Islands voted almost unanimously to stay under British rule in a referendum aimed at winning global sympathy as Argentina intensifies its sovereignty claim, results showed on Monday (March 11).
The official count showed that nearly all of the islanders voted in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day referendum, which was rejected by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt. Only three "no" votes were cast.
Pro-British feelings surged in the barren and blustery islands that lie off the tip of Patagonia, and turnout was high among the 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents registered to vote.
Three decades since Argentina and Britain went to war over the far-flung South Atlantic archipelago, residents have been perturbed by Argentina's increasingly vocal claim over the Malvinas - as the islands are called in Spanish.
The official count showed that nearly all of the islanders voted in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day referendum, which was rejected by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt. Only three "no" votes were cast.
Pro-British feelings surged in the barren and blustery islands that lie off the tip of Patagonia, and turnout was high among the 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents registered to vote.
Three decades since Argentina and Britain went to war over the far-flung South Atlantic archipelago, residents have been perturbed by Argentina's increasingly vocal claim over the Malvinas - as the islands are called in Spanish.