A display of the Australian Aboriginal flag is seen on a windowsill at the home of indigenous Muruwari elder Rita Wright, a member of the Stolen Generations, in Sydney, Australia, January 19, 2021. Portal/Loren Elliott/File Photo Acquire LICENSE RIGHTS
SYDNEY, Oct 12 (Portal) – One of the final opinion polls before the vote showed Australians will overwhelmingly say “no” to a proposal for constitutional recognition of the country’s indigenous population in a referendum on Saturday.
Australians must vote “yes” or “no” on the question of whether they agree to amend the 122-year-old constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and a body called the Voice to Parliament create that can ensure this Advice to the government.
More than 4 million people have already cast their votes after early voting began on October 2nd.
Less than two days before the October 14 vote, opponents of the proposal are leading the “yes” camp 56% to 38%, according to the final YouGov poll released on Thursday. About 6% of respondents were undecided. Yougov surveyed 1,519 voters for the survey.
“Our latest poll suggests a clear ‘no’ victory – almost six in 10 voters intend to vote ‘no’,” said Amir Daftari, YouGov director of polling and academic research.
“Our detailed analysis shows that it is very unlikely that ‘Yes’ will win anywhere other than some inner city seats.”
Polls show that “yes” is ahead among young voters, while older voters overwhelmingly favor “no.”
Australia’s Indigenous citizens, about 3.8% of the country’s 26 million population, have inhabited the country for about 60,000 years but are not mentioned in the constitution and perform below the national average on most socioeconomic metrics.
Support for the referendum, the first since voters rejected a proposal to create a republic in 1999, has fallen in recent months. Supporters argue the vote will bring progress for Indigenous Australians, while some opponents say enshrining a group in the constitution would be divisive.
Other opponents of the vote have described it as tokenism and toothlessness.
Referendums are difficult to pass in Australia, with only eight referendums approved since the country’s founding in 1901.
A constitutional amendment requires a majority of votes nationwide and in at least four of the six states.
Reporting by Praveen Menon; Edited by Stephen Coates
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