General elections were held in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

on 30 October 2012.Country Profile
IFES The previous elections to the 52-member

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 Constitution, upon Vanuatu's independence from Fra ...

were held in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. The largest parties in this election were the socialist

Vanua'aku Party The Vanua'aku Pati () is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu. History The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party ...

, which won 11 seats, and the social-democratic National United Party (8 seats). Thirteen other parties as well as four independents won parliamentary seats. As a result, Edward Natapei of the

was able to become the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. Since then, both

Serge Vohor Rialuth Serge Vohor (born 23 April 1955) is a Vanuatuan politician. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry. He was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a centrist political party, until 2022. When his ...

of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Union of Moderate Parties The Union of Moderate Parties (french: Union des partis moderés) is a liberal political party in Vanuatu founded in 1981. At the last general election, held on 22 January 2016, they won 9.73% of the vote and 6 seats. It is currently headed by Is ...

and Sato Kilman of the People's Progressive Party have held that position, with Kilman being the incumbent Prime Minister of Vanuatu at the time of the 2012 election.

Electoral system

The 52 members of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

will be elected in 17 multi-member constituencies, using the single non-transferable vote. Candidates had to be at least 25 years old, and could not have an undischarged prison sentence or bankruptcy.Electoral system
IPU They also required the support of at least five registered voters in their constituency, and had to put down a non-refundable 50,000

vatu The vatu ( abbreviation: VT;The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.Current Banknotes and Coins in Circulation" Accessed 2 March 2013. ISO code: VUV) is the currency of Vanuatu. The vatu has no subdivisions. Etymology The term ''vatu'', used in all thr ...

deposit. The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, judges, magistrates, civil servants, police officers, teachers and members of the National Council of Chiefs were all ineligible for election to Parliament.

Campaign

346 candidates from 32 political parties contested the 52 seats. There were 344 polling stations throughout the country, including 12 in the capital city,

Port Vila Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate. Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...

. Over 192,000 citizens were eligible to vote in the 2012 election, with 34,998 registered voters in the capital city. The election was being observed by representatives from Australia, China, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, as well as the High Commissioner of New Zealand to Vanuatu,

Bill Dobie Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. The international observers will submit a report on the election to the Vanuatuan government once the election is completed.

Conduct

Following the election, Attorney General

Ishmael Kalsakau Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau is a Vanuatuan politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu since 4 November 2022. He is the head of the Union of Moderate Parties in Vanuatu. Career In 2005, Kalsakau was appointed the Legal C ...

alleged that three ministers, including

Moana Carcasses Kalosil Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister. Carcasses was ouste ...

, engaged in

vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor handi ...

to secure several seats in

Results

Subsequent by-elections

* 2013 Tanna by-election, following the death of Harry Iauko, Iauko Group MP for Tanna. By-election won by his son Pascal Iauko (Iauko Group) * 2015 Port-Vila by-election, following the death of Edward Natapei, Vanua'aku Pati MP for Port-Vila. The by-election was won by Kenneth Natapei for the Vanua'aku Pati.

References

{{Vanuatuan elections Elections in Vanuatu