independence referendum
Sovereignty ballot measure
An independence referendum is a public vote in which residents of a region decide whether to separate from their current nation and form a sovereign state.
Such referendums may be binding or advisory depending on legal frameworks: Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014, Quebec's independence referendum failed narrowly in 1995.
The term applies regardless of outcome.
- secessionFormal withdrawal from union
- breakaway regionTerritory claiming independence unilaterally
- ballotVoting document
- no voteRejection in legislature
- constitutional amendmentFormal change to founding law
self-determination · plebiscite · decolonization · sovereignty · nation state · protest march · suffrage · civil disobedience · international law · regional autonomy · nationalism · grassroots organizing · Quebec · treaty negotiation · electoral commission · advocacy group · human rights charter · voter turnout
- CataloniaBarcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Catalan, Sagrada Familia
- Catalan independencesecession, Catalonia, separatism, direct rule, political prisoners
- Scottish PoliticsScottish Parliament, devolution, First Minister, MSPs, Holyrood
- DevolutionScottish Parliament, Holyrood, home rule, self-rule, reserved powers
- French TerritoriesFrench Guiana, Guadeloupe, French Polynesia, Martinique, Saint Martin
independence referendumgeneral election
Nationwide voting for office
parliamentary election · presidential election · local election · municipal election · midterm election
independence referendummerger
Corporate combination
political union · annexation · federation · confederation · absorption
independence, referendum, independent, independently, depend, dependent, dependence, dependency, depending