Politics of Vanuatu
Encyclopedia
The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative
parliamentary system
. The head of the Republic
is an elected President
, but the Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the head of government
. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and parliament. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Vanuatu has a multi-party system
of government. Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic — French and English — lines. Forming coalition government
s, however, has proved problematic at times, owing to differences between English
and French
speakers.
|Iolu Abil
|Vanua'aku Pati
|2 September 2009
|-
|Prime Minister
|Sato Kilman
|People's Progress Party
|26 June 2011
|}
The constitution
created a republic
an political system
headed by a president
who has primarily ceremonial powers and is elected by a two-thirds majority in an electoral college
consisting of members of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Council
s. The president serves a 5-year term. The president may be removed by the electoral college for gross misconduct or incapacity. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is elected by an absolute majority of the Parliament
. The prime minister in turn appoints the Council of Ministers, whose number may not exceed a quarter of the number of parliamentary representatives. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers constitute the executive government.
or Parlement has 52 members, elected for a four year term in multi-seat constituencies. The president is elected for a five year term by the parliament. Parliament normally sits for a 4-year term unless dissolved by majority vote of a three-fourths quorum or a directive from the President on the advice of the prime minister. The national Council of Chiefs, called the Malvatu Mauri
and elected by district councils of chiefs, advises the government on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu culture and language.
consists of a chief justice and up to three other judges. Two or more members of this court may constitute a Court of Appeal. Magistrate
court
s handle most routine legal matters. The legal system is based on British and French law. The constitution also provides for the establishment of village or island courts presided over by chiefs to deal with questions of customary law.
and English
--lines. Historically, English-speaking politicians such as Walter Lini
, Donald Kalpokas
, and other leaders of the Vanua'aku Pati
favored early independence, whereas French-speaking political leaders favored continuing association with the colonial administrators, particularly France.
On the eve of independence in 1980, Jimmy Stevens
' Nagriamel
movement, in alliance with private French interests, declared the island of Espiritu Santo
independent of the new government. Following independence, Vanuatu requested assistance from Papua New Guinea
, whose forces restored order on Santo. From then until 1991, the Vanua'aku Pati and its predominantly English-speaking leadership controlled the Vanuatu Government.
In December 1991, and following a split in the Vanua'aku Pati, Maxime Carlot Korman
, leader of the Francophone Union of Moderate Parties
(UMP), was elected Vanuatu's first Francophone prime minister. He formed a coalition government with Walter Lini
's breakaway VP faction, now named the National United Party
(NUP).
Following parliamentary elections on November 30, 1995, Carlot Korman was succeeded by Serge Vohor
, a dissident UMP leader. Over the next 2 years, government leadership changed several times due to unstable coalitions within the Parliament. In November 1997, the President dissolved Parliament. Following the subsequent election on March 6, 1998, Donald Kalpokas, the leader of the Vanua'aku Pati, was elected prime minister. A vote of no confidence in November 1999 brought Barak Sopé
to the fore as Prime Minister. Yet another vote of no confidence resulted in the selection of Edward Natapei
as Prime Minister in March 2001. Edward Natapei returned as Prime Minister in the May 2002 national parliamentary elections.
In 2004, Natapei dissolved parliament, and following another national election in July of that year, Vohor became Prime Minister again when two members of the Vanu'aku Party defected to join a new coalition.
Vohor is under heavy fire by the Parliament for establishing diplomatic relation without consulting the Parliament and its Council of Minister decided to revoke such relation and as a signature move, remove the flag of Republic of China displayed in the capitol. A Motion of No Confidence
was called by the Parliament, and on December 11, Vohor was replaced as Prime Minister by Ham Lini
.
In March 2004 the term of office of President John Bani
expired, and Alfred Maseng Nalo was elected in his place. It was soon discovered that Nalo was a criminal and, at the time of his election, was serving a two year suspended sentence for aiding and abetting, misappropriation, and receiving money dishonestly after money from the sale of cocoa went missing. Had his conviction been known at the time of the election, Nalo's candidature would automatically have been invalid. The electoral commission which supervises candidates and conducts background checks on candidates did not detect the conviction because the police-issued certificate of previous offences had allegedly been completed incorrectly (Port Vila Presse Online, 28 April 2004). Nalo refused to resign, but the Supreme Court ordered his removal from office in May 2004, and the decision was subsequently confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Following the 2008 parliamentary elections, the governing coalition was maintained, but Ham Lini was replaced as prime minister by Edward Natapei.
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
. The head of the Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
is an elected President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, but the Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and parliament. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Vanuatu has a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
of government. Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic — French and English — lines. Forming coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
s, however, has proved problematic at times, owing to differences between English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
speakers.
Executive branch
|PresidentPresident of Vanuatu
The President of Vanuatu is the head of state of Vanuatu. The President is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils.The President's role is mostly ceremonial...
|Iolu Abil
Iolu Abil
Iolu Johnson Abil is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the President of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009.-Personal life:...
|Vanua'aku Pati
Vanua'aku Pati
The Vanua'aku Pati is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 11 out of 52 seats, becoming the largest party in Parliament....
|2 September 2009
|-
|Prime Minister
|Sato Kilman
Sato Kilman
Sato Kilman is a Vanuatu politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from December 2010 to April 2011 and from May to June 2011, though his premiership was subsequently annulled by a court of law. He was elected Prime Minister again on 26 June 2011, thus beginning his first legally recognised term...
|People's Progress Party
People's Progress Party (Vanuatu)
The People's Progress Party/Parti progressiste populaire is the ruling political party in Vanuatu.At the 6 July 2004 legislative elections, the party won 3 out of 52 seats. The following election saw its seat count increased to 4. Its leader, Sato Kilman served as Deputy Prime Minister and foreign...
|26 June 2011
|}
The constitution
Constitution of Vanuatu
The Constitution of Vanuatu is the supreme law of the Republic of Vanuatu. It was enacted in 1979, and came into force upon the country's independence on 30 July 1980....
created a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an political system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
headed by a president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
who has primarily ceremonial powers and is elected by a two-thirds majority in an electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
consisting of members of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Council
Regional Council
Regional Council or regional council may refer to the following:*Regional Council *Regional Council, Hong Kong*Regional council *Regional Council - the Parliament of a Regione of Italy*Regional councils in New Zealand...
s. The president serves a 5-year term. The president may be removed by the electoral college for gross misconduct or incapacity. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is elected by an absolute majority of the Parliament
Parliament of Vanuatu
The Parliament is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Vanuatu.It was established by chapter 4 of the 1980 Constitution, upon Vanuatu's independence from France and the United Kingdom....
. The prime minister in turn appoints the Council of Ministers, whose number may not exceed a quarter of the number of parliamentary representatives. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers constitute the executive government.
Legislative branch
ParliamentParliament of Vanuatu
The Parliament is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Vanuatu.It was established by chapter 4 of the 1980 Constitution, upon Vanuatu's independence from France and the United Kingdom....
or Parlement has 52 members, elected for a four year term in multi-seat constituencies. The president is elected for a five year term by the parliament. Parliament normally sits for a 4-year term unless dissolved by majority vote of a three-fourths quorum or a directive from the President on the advice of the prime minister. The national Council of Chiefs, called the Malvatu Mauri
Malvatu Mauri
The Malvatu Mauri, or National Council of Chiefs, is a formal advisory body of chiefs recognised by the Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu. Members of the Council are elected by their fellow chiefs sitting in district councils of chiefs...
and elected by district councils of chiefs, advises the government on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu culture and language.
Political parties and elections
Judicial branch
The Supreme CourtSupreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
consists of a chief justice and up to three other judges. Two or more members of this court may constitute a Court of Appeal. Magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s handle most routine legal matters. The legal system is based on British and French law. The constitution also provides for the establishment of village or island courts presided over by chiefs to deal with questions of customary law.
Political conditions
Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic--FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
--lines. Historically, English-speaking politicians such as Walter Lini
Walter Lini
Father Walter Hadye Lini was an Anglican priest and the founding Prime Minister of Vanuatu. He was born on Pentecost Island. During the era when Vanuatu was a condominium ruled by the United Kingdom and France, Lini formed the Vanua'aku Pati, which was principally backed by English-speakers...
, Donald Kalpokas
Donald Kalpokas
Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas is a ni-Vanuatu politician and diplomat who served as prime minister of Vanuatu twice.Kalpokas was born on Efate island. Along with Walter Lini he founded the Vanua'aku Pati a political party which supported political independence for Vanuatu, socialist policies, and...
, and other leaders of the Vanua'aku Pati
Vanua'aku Pati
The Vanua'aku Pati is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 11 out of 52 seats, becoming the largest party in Parliament....
favored early independence, whereas French-speaking political leaders favored continuing association with the colonial administrators, particularly France.
On the eve of independence in 1980, Jimmy Stevens
Jimmy Stevens
Jimmy Stevens, known as "Moses" , was a Ni-Vanuatu nationalist and politician. As leader of the conservative Nagriamel movement, he declared the independence of Espiritu Santo island as the "State of Vemerana" in June 1980 and referred to himself as "prime minister"...
' Nagriamel
Nagriamel
Nagriamel is a political movement initially based in the northern islands of the New Hebrides during the late 1970s.Nagriamel called for a focus on the traditional, village-centered way of life for the ni-Vanuatu people, though its messianic leader Jimmy Stevens and his compound in the Fanafo area...
movement, in alliance with private French interests, declared the island of Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
independent of the new government. Following independence, Vanuatu requested assistance from Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, whose forces restored order on Santo. From then until 1991, the Vanua'aku Pati and its predominantly English-speaking leadership controlled the Vanuatu Government.
In December 1991, and following a split in the Vanua'aku Pati, Maxime Carlot Korman
Maxime Carlot Korman
Maxime Carlot Korman is a ni-Vanuatu politician, formerly serving as Speaker of the Parliament and formerly as acting President. He served as Prime minister of Vanuatu for nearly five years, first from 16 December 1991 to 21 December 1995 and again from 23 February 1996 to 30 September 1996...
, leader of the Francophone Union of Moderate Parties
Union of Moderate Parties
The Union of Moderate Parties is a conservative Francophone political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 7 out of 52 seats...
(UMP), was elected Vanuatu's first Francophone prime minister. He formed a coalition government with Walter Lini
Walter Lini
Father Walter Hadye Lini was an Anglican priest and the founding Prime Minister of Vanuatu. He was born on Pentecost Island. During the era when Vanuatu was a condominium ruled by the United Kingdom and France, Lini formed the Vanua'aku Pati, which was principally backed by English-speakers...
's breakaway VP faction, now named the National United Party
National United Party (Vanuatu)
The Vanuatu National United Party is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 8 out of 52 seats. It is a social democratic party which receives most of its support from English speakers...
(NUP).
Following parliamentary elections on November 30, 1995, Carlot Korman was succeeded by Serge Vohor
Serge Vohor
Rialuth Serge Vohor is a politician from Vanuatu. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry.He is a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a conservative, Francophone political party. When his party came to power in 1991, Vohor became foreign minister of Vanuatu...
, a dissident UMP leader. Over the next 2 years, government leadership changed several times due to unstable coalitions within the Parliament. In November 1997, the President dissolved Parliament. Following the subsequent election on March 6, 1998, Donald Kalpokas, the leader of the Vanua'aku Pati, was elected prime minister. A vote of no confidence in November 1999 brought Barak Sopé
Barak Sopé
Barak Tame Sopé Mautamata is a politician from Vanuatu. He is the leader of the Melanesian Progressive Party and was, until 2008, a member of the ni-Vanuatu parliament from the island of Efate...
to the fore as Prime Minister. Yet another vote of no confidence resulted in the selection of Edward Natapei
Edward Natapei
Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki is a politician from Vanuatu. He was elected Prime Minister of Vanuatu on two separate terms, and was previously the Minister of Foreign Affairs briefly in 1991, the acting President of Vanuatu from 2 March 1999 to 24 March 1999 , and Deputy Prime Minister...
as Prime Minister in March 2001. Edward Natapei returned as Prime Minister in the May 2002 national parliamentary elections.
In 2004, Natapei dissolved parliament, and following another national election in July of that year, Vohor became Prime Minister again when two members of the Vanu'aku Party defected to join a new coalition.
Vohor is under heavy fire by the Parliament for establishing diplomatic relation without consulting the Parliament and its Council of Minister decided to revoke such relation and as a signature move, remove the flag of Republic of China displayed in the capitol. A Motion of No Confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
was called by the Parliament, and on December 11, Vohor was replaced as Prime Minister by Ham Lini
Ham Lini
Ham Lini Vanuaroroa is a politician from Vanuatu. He is an MP from Pentecost Island in PENAMA Province. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 December 2004 until 22 September 2008. Lini is the brother of Walter Lini, one of the founders of the modern Republic of Vanuatu...
.
In March 2004 the term of office of President John Bani
John Bani
Father John Bennett Bani was the president and head of state of Vanuatu from 25 March 1999 until March 24, 2004.He resigned in 2004.He is an Anglican priest from Pentecost Island....
expired, and Alfred Maseng Nalo was elected in his place. It was soon discovered that Nalo was a criminal and, at the time of his election, was serving a two year suspended sentence for aiding and abetting, misappropriation, and receiving money dishonestly after money from the sale of cocoa went missing. Had his conviction been known at the time of the election, Nalo's candidature would automatically have been invalid. The electoral commission which supervises candidates and conducts background checks on candidates did not detect the conviction because the police-issued certificate of previous offences had allegedly been completed incorrectly (Port Vila Presse Online, 28 April 2004). Nalo refused to resign, but the Supreme Court ordered his removal from office in May 2004, and the decision was subsequently confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Following the 2008 parliamentary elections, the governing coalition was maintained, but Ham Lini was replaced as prime minister by Edward Natapei.
literature
- Andreas Holtz: Nation-Building und die Frage nach Souveränität im Südpazifik vor dem Hintergrund der politischen Geschichte der Republik Vanuatu. Münster/Hamburg/London 2003. ISBN 3-8258-6413-8.