ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
The Republic of Vanuatu gained independence on 30 July 1980 and adopted a Westminster style parliamentary political system. Since then, the country has experienced a series of direct elections, which include national general elections, provincial elections and municipal elections. Additionally, there is an elected 22-member Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, which has a solely advisory role in areas relating to Melanesian indigenous values, custom and tradition. The law provides for the holding of national referendums in order to amend the Constitution, but to this day no referendum has been conducted in Vanuatu.
Vanuatu has 52-member unicameral national Parliament, which is elected using a combination of Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) in multiple-member constituencies and First Past the Post (FPTP) in single member constituencies. In both systems, candidates run as individuals for parliamentary or provincial council seats in their constituencies. Voters cast their vote for one candidate. The candidates with the most votes win the seats. There are 18 national constituencies, six of which are single-member and 12 being multiple-member (from two to seven members).
Elections are also held in each of the six provinces, to elect the provincial assemblies (local government councils). These assemblies are elected, once again using a combination of FPTP in single-member constituencies and the SNTV system in multiple-member constituencies (the number of constituencies vary per province), following the model of the national parliamentary elections.
Municipal elections are held in the two urban centers of the country, Port Vila and Luganville. Municipal elections are held in four wards in each constituency (all of them multiple-member). In the past, the electoral system used to be held using a proportional representation (PR) system, but in 2018 the SNTV system was adopted. Temporary special measures have been introduced for the municipal elections, with a 30% quota for women in Port Vila and Luganville municipal councils.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The electoral framework of Vanuatu consists of the Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu (1980), Political Parties Registration Act No.15 of 2023, Electoral Act No.16 of 2023 and the National Referendum Act (2004) including their respective amendments and subsidiary legislation (regulation).
The Constitution, signed on 5 October 1979, provides for all matters relating to democracy, its institutions and elections. The 1980 Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly and association and participation in elections. The Constitution includes several important provisions related to elections and campaigns. Important constitutional articles related to elections include that voting (“the franchise”) is universal, equal and secret; the fact that, subject to any conditions or restrictions established by Parliament, every citizen of Vanuatu who is at least 18 years of age is entitled to vote; that political parties may be formed freely and may contest elections. Article 17 deals with the election of members of Parliament, who are elected on the basis of “universal franchise” (everyone is allowed to vote)
- Strengthening the independence of the Electoral Commission and the Vanuatu Electoral Office which is the operational arm of the Commission;
- At least one member of the Electoral Commission must be a woman;
- Providing for reserved seats for women in municipal council constituencies;
- Vacant seats will as a general rule be filled by the ‘runner up candidate’ from the last election, however, by-elections will still be held if there is no suitable runner up;
- A Voter Register will replace the electoral rolls. The Electoral Commission and Vanuatu Electoral Office will no longer be responsible for collecting information for “registration of electors in the field”, but rather for the “establishment and maintenance of the Voter Register” relying on information from the new Civil Register;
- There will be a single ballot paper with all candidates on it for each constituency.
- This is a cost saving measure to replace the current ballot paper structure with booklets of ballots per candidate;
- Special measures for polling for internally displaced persons resulting from natural disasters within flexible timeframes set by the Electoral Commission;
- Introducing basic campaign financing disclosure provisions for candidates to improve oversight of campaign contributions and expenditures in order to provide for greater transparency and accountability;
- Providing special voting measures for certain voters to cover polling outside their allocated polling stations, including possible future e-voting options;
- Election petitions for provincial government council and municipal council elections will be determined by the Magistrates Court while election petitions for Parliamentary elections will continue to be determined by the Supreme Court;
- It is intended that provision for out-of-country voting will be expanded beyond Ni-Vanuatu voters in New Caledonia.
