 | ||
The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) is the government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
The government was established in 2000 following a peace agreement between the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) a guerrilla movement.
The Constitution of Bougainville specifies that the Autonomous Bougainville Government shall consist of three branches:
Elections for the first Autonomous Government were held in May and June 2005; Joseph Kabui was elected President, with Joseph Watawi selected by the House of Representatives as Vice-President.
The future
The ABG has declared that a referendum for independence from Papua New Guinea will be held in 2019. This is in accordance with the terms of the Bougainville Peace Agreement, which requires such a referendum to be held by 2020. Some are concerned that the referendum may result in violence due to unresolved tensions from the Bougainville Civil War.