How to register

In order to be eligible for registration on the electoral roll, a person has to be a Ni-Vanuatu citizen, having attained 18 years of age on or before the qualifying date (the date when the continuous registration update is to close, six weeks before the polling day).

In order to be eligible for registration in the electoral list for a polling district, the person has to have been a resident in that polling district over three months at the time of the preparation of the electoral list. According to the law, where there is doubt as to whether or not a person is resident in a polling district, the registration officer will inquire as to the residential status of that person and make a report and corresponding recommendation to the Principal Electoral Officer (PEO).

When an eligible person is resident in a polling district which is outside the registration area for which he is carrying out a registration, and provided the person has not been registered elsewhere, the registration officer will provide him with an application to be registered in the polling district of his place of residence.

In the past, the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO) used to organize voter registration updates through door-to-door campaigns. Since continuous voter registration was introduced in 2017, voter registration takes place at registration centers (RC), set up in identified locations, generally potential polling stations or available venues during time of registration.

The VEO establishes RCs around the country according to pre-established schedules, so applicants should be vigilant as to the registration schedules in their areas.

The VEO office in Port Vila also registers potential voters, continually throughout the year.

Applicants can go to any registration center around the country, but have to provide proof of residency in the in the polling district they intend to be registered at.

It is highly recommended, however, that applicants go to register at the RC in their polling districts.

Upon arrival to the registration center, applicants are given a registration form, which must be duly filled out. All applicants must show their valid birth certificate; without a birth certificate it is not possible to be registered as a voter (if an applicant doesn’t have a birth certificate, they must apply for one at the corresponding Civil Registry office).

Everyone must include in their forms two witnesses who reside in the same residential area as themselves, and who also have a valid birth certificate. One of the two witnesses must be from a different household but from the same polling district, preferably a neighbor. There is no fee for registering as a voter.

Voters are registered to vote at a designated polling station, closest to their place of residence. If voters change their residence and their new address corresponds to a different polling station (even if it is within the same constituency), the voter then needs to re-register.

Once registered, the voter can only vote with a valid National ID Card for identification purposes. Registration is continuous all year round, however six weeks before polling day, voters' addresses and polling station will be fixed in the system. Citizens are responsible for keeping their data updated in the system, as the polling station will be allocated according to the voter's address.

Voters who have misplaced their National ID Card will be able to have it replaced for a fee. Issuing of replacements is a continuous process, but it also stops six weeks before polling day.

Anyone who believes they should be allowed to vote and whose name is not on the voters list can ask the PEO to review their information. If they are still not happy with the PEO’s decision, they can appeal to the EC. The EC’s decision cannot be appealed to any other body.

Since 2017, the law allows for continuous voter registration. The law also stipulates that voter registration should be stopped six weeks before the determined polling date (if it is a national election, registration will be closed all over the country six weeks before polling date, if it is a provincial or municipal election, registration will be closed in the corresponding province or municipality six weeks before polling, but will continue in the rest of the country).

The VEO schedules opening of registration centers in various provinces at different times, persons wanting to register should be attentive to the VEO schedule. The VEO HQs in Port Vila is opened throughout the year for registration. Voters who have lost their voter cards can also have them replaced throughout the country at RCs, according to the schedules organized by the registration officers; in Port Vila’s VEO HQs, the issue of replacement (“duplicate”) cards takes place all year long. All card replacements stop being issued two weeks before polling day.

A citizen who has attained 18 years but who is unable to apply to a registration officer in Vanuatu for registration in an electoral list, by reason of being outside Vanuatu, may apply to the PEO by completing and submitting to the corresponding form. Once the PEO is satisfied that a citizen who has made an application is resident overseas, and is eligible for registration, he shall register the applicant in the overseas electoral list and inform him accordingly. The applicant will be registered in the part of the overseas electoral list relating to the constituency in which, in the PEO’s opinion, the applicant would have voted had he not been overseas.