Political party

The Speaker of Parliament, Gracia Shadrack, Deputy Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau and the Leader of Opposition Ralph Regenvanu stressed how the Youth MPs were matured in political discussions during the 1-day session on 29 July.

They encouraged the youth MPS to pick which political party that suits them and start working on becoming an elected Member of Parliament.

The youth parliamentary session last week showed how the 52 Youth MPs studied Bills, presentation by the government side and how both houses debated them for the good of the nation.

A petition signed by women leaders from across Vanuatu was last week submitted to government, asking it to enact a fifty per cent quota for women's representation in parliament.

There are currently no female MPs in the 52-seat national parliament, and only five women MPs have been elected since Vanuatu gained independence in 1980.

The head of the National Council for Women Leiasmanu Cullwick said, traditionally, men told their wives who to vote for.