Elections

At one impromptu parade, dozens of people squeezed onto the back of flatbed trucks, some hanging off the edges, and filled beyond capacity the loud, run-down vans that serve as buses here.

They cheered and leaned out their windows waving flags as the convoy moved along slowly, drawing residents from their houses to watch the spectacle roll by.

Teams from the group, invited to monitor elections by the Vanuatu government, were deployed to Tanna, Port Vila, Efate and Santo earlier in January to assist with Friday's elections.

Teams from the group, invited to monitor elections by the Vanuatu government, were deployed to Tanna, Port Vila, Efate and Santo earlier in January to assist with Friday's elections.

Jenny Ligo, from Vanuatu Women against Crime and Corruption, says many people were promised voting cards last year but have not received them in time for the snap election.

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, John Killion Taleo, responded to criticism and claims that many young people haven't been able to enrol, saying as at June 2015, there were almost 10,000 more voters registered than the previous year.

Acting Principal Electoral Officer Joe Johnson Iati said members of the VMF have been at the Electoral Office for the past two weeks assisting hundreds of people to get proxies and duplicate cards for the polls. 

Around 200,000 registered voters will cast their ballots for the 362 candidates contesting the Pacific Island nation’s snap election, scheduled for this Friday, 22 January. Polling booths will open from 7.30 in the morning.

A total of Vt70 million has gone into printing the ballot papers which were completed Thursday last week by Sun Production printers.

Acting Principal Electoral Officer Joe Johnson Iati said members of the VMF have been at the Electoral Office for the past two weeks assisting hundreds of people to get proxies and duplicate cards for the polls. 

Around 200,000 registered voters will cast their ballots for the 362 candidates contesting the Pacific Island nation’s snap election, scheduled for this Friday, 22 January. Polling booths will open from 7.30 in the morning.

A total of Vt70 million has gone into printing the ballot papers which were completed Thursday last week by Sun Production printers.

The MSG Observer Mission is led by former parliamentarian and Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Sir Francis Hilly Billy and will also include observers from Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.

Saneem says he is honored to observe Vanuatu’s snap election following Fiji’s participation in the Bougainville election through the Pacific Islands Forum Observer Mission last year.

Meanwhile, a team from the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force has left for Port Vila, Vanuatu, to assist with the country’s upcoming snap elections this Friday.

Willie Toama submitted the urgent application after his name failed to make the Electoral Commission's official list of candidates in the southern constituency of Tanna.

The Electoral Commission told the court that it didn't declare Mr Toama eligible because his name was not on the electoral list.

After a special Coalition party-room meeting on Tuesday rejected proposals to give members a free vote on the issue, the prime minister pledged to take it to the people, through a plebiscite or referendum.

On Sunday, he ruled out holding a public poll at the same time as the federal election.