Sydney: The Australians on Saturday October 14, 2023 participating in a referendum conducted for the first time in almost a quarter of a century voted against the constitutional amendment granting the First People of Australia “Voice to Parliament”.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are the indigenous population of the country who are also known as the First People of Australia.
They are about 3.8% of Australia’s total population. The more than 800,000 Indigenous people and their ancestors have inhabited the land for at least 60,000 years. They comprise several hundred groups that have their own histories, traditions and languages, according to Reuters.
The Australians were on Saturday asked to vote "Yes" or "No" on the public referendum to change the constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing the voice, which will advise the federal parliament on all issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), 6.1 million voters had participated in early voting as of Friday and 2.1 million had applied for a postal vote, leaving 9.4 million people to cast their ballots on Saturday.
The Australian Electoral Commission said 59% of the country voted No as of 10.30 pm AEDT on Saturday.
The state with the highest Yes vote was Victoria, at 46%, while the Queensland had the lowest Yes vote, at 32%.
Australian broadcaster ABC and other TV networks have projected that a majority of voters in all six of Australia's states would vote against altering the 122-year-old constitution.
A successful referendum required at least four of the six to vote in favour, along with a national majority.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged it was not the outcome he had hoped for but said the country would have to seek a new way forward for reconciliation.
The Voice to Parliament was proposed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 2017 document crafted by Indigenous leaders that set out a roadmap for reconciliation with wider Australia.
Academics and human rights advocates fear the win by the "No" camp could set back reconciliation efforts by years, according to Reuters.
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