Snap general elections were held in Vanuatu on 16 January 2025,[1][2] having been moved from 14 January 2025 due to the 2024 Port Vila earthquake on 17 December.[3] The election results showed no political party winning a majority in Parliament.
The most pivotal issue for many Ni-vans is how to rebuild following the December 2024 earthquake. The estimated cost to rebuild Port Vila, the nation's capital, and other areas affected by the earthquake is 29 billion vatu ($374 million).[6] Additionally, efforts to rebuild following the earthquake only adds to the list of other disasters for which the country needs to rebuild, namely three tropical cyclones in 2023, an airline collapse, and the economic impact of COVID. Fears regarding the safety of an ability to travel may also have effects on the results. In addition to the injuries caused by the earthquake and the loss of personal property, more than 110 classrooms across 45 schools have also been damaged. Moreover the Port Vila Central Business District remains closed. This could impact whether people feel safe to travel on damaged roads to new polling locations and whether they have the fares required to travel by bus.
Additionally, political stability could be a motivating issue for some. Within the 18 months prior to the snap election, Vanuatu has experienced three Prime Ministers.[7] The Vanuatu Parliament experienced a series of "floor crossings" by members of parliament which led to levels of uncertainty. In an effort to prevent this from occurring, and thereby preserve political stability, Vanuatu held a referendum in May 2024 adopting two new constitutional provisions. The first would force a member of parliament who leaves or is expelled from the party under which they were elected to resign their seat which would then be filled by a by-election. The second would require elected independents and individuals elected as the only member of their party to join a larger party represented in parliament within three months of the first session. Both measures passed by large margins. Understanding the frustration regarding political instability, some candidates have run on a platform to end political instability with independent candidate Mike Esrom Kaun stating "[p]eople are frustrated, are tired and realize that something has to happen and this has been amplified by the disaster that recently happened."[8]
Economic development may also be a factor for some voters. In 2024, the European Union ended Vanuatu's visa-free access, after previously suspending it in 2022, citing security concerns.[9] Specifically, the EU alleged that Vanuatu has been operating investor citizenship schemes. These schemes enabled third-country nationals who would otherwise be required to have a visa when travelling to the EU to receive Vanuatu citizenship in exchange for an investment, thereby obtaining visa-free access to the EU. This created security concerns for the EU. Since the suspension revenue related to the Vanuatu's citizenship scheme has dropped.[10]
The 52 members of Parliament are elected for four years terms by single non-transferable vote in eighteen constituencies, ten of which are multi-member constituencies of between two and seven seats, while the remaining eight are single-member constituencies in which the vote takes the form of a first-past-the-post system.[11]
Voting was held in 352 polling stations nationwide, along with one station in Nouméa to serve voters residing in New Caledonia,[12] with bus shuttles organised to transport voters there.[13] More than 1,700 officials were deployed to oversee the election, while 350 police officers were also deployed to ensure security during the election.[14] The Vanuatu Election Office acknowledged that it had been hampered in its preparations by the surprise decision to hold the election as well as the 2024 Port Vila earthquake.[15]
Most incumbents were reelected, while at least two neophytes were elected in Port-Vila. The only woman MP in the outgoing parliament, Julia King, lost her seat in Efate.[17][18] Only one woman was elected to the new parliament, former Port Vila deputy mayor Marie Louis Paulette Milne, who ran in Port Vila Constituency for the Green Confederation. Her husband, former prime minister Moana Carcasses Kalosil, failed to be elected in Efate Rural Constituency. Of 31 independent candidates, only Gaetan Pikioune, who ran in Santo Constituency, was elected.[16]
On 27 January, the Leaders Party of Vanuatu, the Vanua'aku Party, the Union of Moderate Parties, the Reunification Movement for Change the Iauko Group and the Land and Justice Party agreed to form a coalition government.[19]
