The last of the 1,650 voters in the Falkland Islands were casting their ballots Monday in a referendum aimed at showing Argentina and the rest of the outside world that they are determined to remain a British overseas territory.

There aren’t many people to begin with on the remote South Atlantic islands claimed both by Britain and Argentina — just 2,563 residents — but they’ve been doing all they can to show their sympathies, waving Union Jack flags and dressing up their off-road vehicles in red-white-and-blue.

“The referendum will show the world how we feel, that we are British and that we wish to remain British. We don’t want to have nothing to do with Argentina, at all,” islander Barry Nielson said as he voted.

Election observer Juan Henao said the process has been completely normal, and that more than 70 percent of the voters had cast their ballots by Monday afternoon. Polls were closing at 6 p.m., and the results were expected to be announced late Monday night.

The ballot asks a simple yes-or-no question: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?”

Most islanders interviewed by The Associated Press said they expect an overwhelming “Yes” vote.

They weren’t given a choice in this ballot for any alternatives, such as full independence or some sort of political relationship with Argentina. The Falkland Islands Government said that in the hypothetical case of a majority for “no,” they could explore alternatives in a second vote later.

The government barred from voting any visiting contractors or personnel from the sizeable British military deployment, as well as anyone who hasn’t resided in the islands for the last 12 months, thus excluding several people with islander status who have chosen to live in Argentina.

Argentines consider the “Islas Malvinas” to be part of their national territory, taken from them by the British more than 180 years ago. One group at the iconic obelisk in Buenos Aires said Monday that it had gathered 100,000 signatures supporting Argentina‘s claim to the territory and the resource-rich seas that surrounds the archipelago.

The islands’ community, which includes families that have worked the land for nine generations, is steeped in British culture, and British Prime Minister David …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News