General elections were held in the New Hebrides on 14 November 1979 for the seats in Representative Assembly, 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%.[1]

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.[2]

Electoral system

The 39 members of the legislature were elected from 15 constituencies.[3]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
Vanua'aku Pati28,63660.7725
New Hebrides Federal Party5,74212.195
Moderate Party2,7315.802
Namangi Aute1,9854.212
Jon Frum Movement1,0502.231
Kapiel9852.091
Natui Tanno7191.531
Kastom6831.450
Natatok6401.360
Tabwemasana1550.330
Independents3,7968.062
Total47,122100.0039
Valid votes47,12299.12
Invalid/blank votes4180.88
Total votes47,540100.00
Registered voters/turnout52,63690.32
Source: Zorgbibe[4]

Aftermath

After it was announced that the Vanua'aku Pati had also won a majority on the regional assembly election of Espiritu Santo were announced, supporters of Nagriamel 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.[5]

On 29 November the Representative Assembly elected Walter Lini 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.[5]

Position Member
Chief Minister
Minister of Justice
Walter Lini
Deputy Chief Minister
Minister of the Interior
George Kalkoa
Minister of EducationDonald Kalpokas
Minister of FinanceKalpokor Kalsakau
Minister of HealthGeorge Worek
Minister of LandsSethy Regenvanu
Minister of Natural ResourcesThomas Reuben
Minister of Social AffairsWillie Korisa
Minister of Transport, Communications and Civil AviationJohn Naupa

See also

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p839 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. NH right to try uniting Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1979, p35
  3. Premdas, Ralph R.; Steeves, Jeffrey S. (1989). "Vanuatu: The 1987 national elections and their aftermath∗". The Journal of Pacific History. 24 (1): 110–117. doi:10.1080/00223348908572606. ISSN 0022-3344.
  4. Charles Zorgbibe (1981) "Vanuatu, naissance d'un état", Économica, pp110–115
  5. 1 2 New Hebrides: High hopes haunted by high danger Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1980, pp13–14
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