WELLINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's autonomous region of Bougainville moved a step closer to possible independence on Thursday as the country's parliament prepared to consider the results of a non-binding referendum in which voters overwhelmingly backed secession.
Residents of Bougainville, which consists of two main islands and several smaller ones with a population of about 370,000 people, voted 97.7% in favour of independence in 2019.
But it has taken years of negotiations between the national and regional governments to get to the next step.
Papua New Guinea's parliament must ratify the referendum result for it to take effect, and the two sides agreed this month that parliament would begin considering it on Thursday. No date for a vote has been announced.
Leaders on Bougainville, which has had an independence movement for decades, have targeted greater self-government in September 2027 and full sovereignty in 2030.
Bougainville's push for independence stems largely from longstanding grievances over control of revenue from the now-closed Panguna copper and gold mine and a decade-long civil war that killed thousands.
A peace deal was reached in 2001 in the war and included an agreement to defer an independence referendum
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
