2004 Saban status referendum|
|
|
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
| Remain in the Netherlands Antilles
|
85
|
13.18%
|
| Direct ties with the Netherlands
|
555
|
86.05%
|
| Independence
|
5
|
0.78%
|
| Valid votes
|
645
|
96.85%
|
| Invalid or blank votes
|
21
|
3.15%
|
| Total votes
|
666
|
100.00%
|
| Registered voters/turnout
|
856
|
77.8%
| |
A status referendum was held on the island of Saba on 5 November 2004.[1]
Background
After the 1994 referendum came out in favour of maintaining and restructuring the Netherlands Antilles, the government of the Netherlands Antilles tried to restructure the Netherlands Antilles and attempted to forge closer ties between the islands, as is exemplified by the adoption of an anthem of the Netherlands Antilles in 2000. A new referendum on Sint Maarten, which was in favour of a separate status for Sint Maarten as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, sparked a new series of referendums across the Netherlands Antilles, however.
86.05% of the population in Saba voted for closer links to the Netherlands; remaining a part of the Netherlands Antilles got 13.18% of the vote. Independence got less than one percent of the vote.
