Vanuatu holds election after devastating earthquake

Voting began on Thursday to elect a new government in Vanuatu.

The snap election comes a month after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific Island nation, killing at least 14 people.

More than 200 individuals were injured and thousands displaced. The earthquake also triggered landslides and damaged several major buildings in the capital, Port Vila.

The election was called after Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu dissolved parliament in November due to a no-confidence motion against him and Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) supporters travel in convoy. Photo/Christopher Malili

The country has experienced 18 months of political instability, witnessing three changes in prime ministers.

According to the constitution, an election must be held within 60 days of parliament's dissolution.

More than 180,000 registered voters will choose representatives for 52 seats.

Despite the widespread damage from the earthquake, Vanuatu’s Principal Electoral Officer, Guilain Malessas, reported that the distribution of ballot boxes was completed without disruptions.

“We are grateful for the good weather conditions currently in Vanuatu. The deployments proceeded safely and on time,” Malessas told local media.

There are 352 polling stations spread out over the 12,000-square-kilometre archipelago, managed by 1700 polling officials.

The Owen Hall Polling Station in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Photo/Koroi Hawkins/RNZ Pacific

Another polling station is in Noumea for citizens living in New Caledonia. Proxy voting is also being facilitated for workers overseas.

As Vanuatu faces its fourth change of government in nearly two years, observers say it will need stable leadership to recover from its compounding disasters.

The next government will face a post-earthquake recovery task estimated to cost at least 29 billion vatu (NZ$375 million).

This challenge adds to the extensive list of ongoing recovery efforts in Vanuatu, which is still rebuilding from three tropical cyclones in 2023, a recent airline collapse, and the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A government report revealed that as of last week, about 260 people were injured in December's earthquake, 730 homes were damaged, and 780 people remained displaced.

More than 110 classrooms across 45 schools were also damaged, the report said.

The government said that Vanuatu is experienced in responding to natural disasters, but last month's quake, which struck the country's most populated city, presents a different kind of crisis.

Even before the earthquake and last year's political upheaval, Vanuatu struggled with declining voter turnout.

In the 2022 snap election, fewer than half of registered voters participated.

Tess Newton Cain, an adjunct associate professor at the Griffith Asia Institute, said the earthquake would influence voters in Port Vila and the main island Efate.

"What candidates are able to tell them about recovery is going to be quite important in terms of how they cast their votes."

The Owen Hall Polling Station in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Photo/Koroi Hawkins/RNZ Pacific

She said reconstruction in Vila is expected to take years, and as the nation prepares for the recovery effort, voters want their leaders to prioritise their needs.

Newton Cain said voters were looking for strong leadership in the earthquake recovery and would vote accordingly.

She said the next government should begin with a 100-day earthquake recovery and reconstruction action plan.

Meanwhile, official election results are expected to be released in several days, as ballots from the outlying islands need to be transported to Port Vila.