General elections were held in the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
on 14 November 1979, the last before independence the following year. The result was a victory for the
Vanua'aku Pati, which won 25 of the 39 seats, with its partner party Natui Tanno winning one. Voter turnout was 90.3%.
[ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p839 ]
Background
Prior to the elections, the
New Hebrides Federal Party was formed by former members of
Tanunion and
Natatok, as well as members of
Nagriamel
Nagriamel (sometimes seen as Vemarana, Vemerana or the Nagriamel Customs Union or Nagriamel Movement) is a political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was established in January 1966 at a meeting of chiefs in Espiritu Santo convened by Chief ...
.
Electoral system
The 39 members of the legislature were elected from 15 constituencies.
Results
Aftermath
After it was announced that the Vanua'aku Pati had also won a majority on the regional assembly election of
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
were announced, supporters of
Nagriamel
Nagriamel (sometimes seen as Vemarana, Vemerana or the Nagriamel Customs Union or Nagriamel Movement) is a political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was established in January 1966 at a meeting of chiefs in Espiritu Santo convened by Chief ...
and Tabwemasana took to the streets with weapons to tell immigrants to leave the island. Almost 360 people took sanctuary in the Anglican church compound and around 350–500 people fled the island.
[
On 29 November the Representative Assembly elected ]Walter Lini
Walter Hadye Lin̄i (1942 – 21 February 1999) was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. On his mother's side ...
as Chief Minister. Lini received 26 votes, defeating Gérard Leymang who received three; three members abstained and seven MHAs from Espiritu Santo boycotted the session, claiming there had been electoral fraud.[New Hebrides: High hopes haunted by high danger]
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1980, pp13–14
See also
*List of members of the Parliament of Vanuatu (1979–1983)
The 39 members of the Parliament of Vanuatu
The Parliament of Vanuatu ( bi, Palamen blong Vanuatu; french: Parlement du Vanuatu) is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Vanuatu.
It was established by chapter 4 of the 1980 Cons ...
References
{{Vanuatuan elections
Elections in Vanuatu
1970s in Vanuatu
1979 election
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
November 1979 events in Oceania