FOR POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES
I AM A CANDIDATE. CAN I SERVE AS A CANDIDATE AGENT?
No, candidates cannot serve as candidate agents. They are therefore not allowed in the polling station during polling, except when casting their votes. Candidates can, however, be present at the count.
CAN A CANDIDATE HAVE MORE THAN ONE REPRESENTATIVE ("AGENT") AT A POLLING STATION?
Candidates may nominate two representatives (“agents”) per polling stations, but only one can be in the polling station at a time.
CAN A PARTY NOMINATE MORE THAN TWO CANDIDATES IN THE SAME CONSTITUENCY?
Yes, a party, if it so wishes, can field more than one candidate in a given constituency. This happens mostly in the multi-party constituencies.
CAN I BE A CANDIDATE IN MORE THAN ONE CONSTITUENCY?
No, candidates are not allowed to run in more than one constituency for the same election.
WHEN AND WHERE ARE THE BALLOT PAPERS COUNTED?
Ballot papers are counted at the polling station, immediately following the close of polling.
WHAT MAKES A BALLOT PAPER INVALID?
During the count, the presiding officer will declare a ballot paper invalid (“void”) if: (a) any writing or mark in the ballot identifies the voter; (b) the ballot is not in an envelope or is in a non-official envelope; or (c) the ballot is in an envelope containing more than one ballot paper. Invalid votes are not counted.
WHO ANNOUNCES THE ELECTORAL RESULTS, AND WHEN?
At the end of the count, the presiding officer declares counting of votes completed and formally announces the votes cast for each candidate in the polling station.
Immediately after declaring the counting of votes completed, the presiding officer completes the official report on polling, including the voting results in the polling station. The results are then sent to the constituency’s returning officer, who will transfer the results to the EC in Port Vila.
Tallying of results is done by the EC in Port Vila and, as soon as practicable, the EC announces the number of votes cast for each candidate in each constituency. The candidates with the highest number of votes win the corresponding seats and are declared elected.
As soon as practicable after the election, the EC ensures the results are circulated in each constituency as appropriate and published in the official Gazette.
I HAVE A COMPLAINT AGAINST AN ELECTORAL OFFICER. HOW DO I LODGE THAT COMPLAINT?
The complaint has to be lodged through the normal courts, and it has to be lodged not later than 21 days from the date the alleged offence took place.
WHO HANDLES ELECTORAL PETITIONS?
Electoral petitions challenging the results of parliamentary elections are handled directly by the Supreme Court.
