A 7.3-magnitude earthquake rumbled through Vanuatu on December 17, rupturing roads, toppling buildings in capital Port Vila, and killing at least 14 people.
“Instability will not help Vanuatu right now, especially after the earthquake. The whole nation has been affected by the earthquake,” Port Vila candidate Mike Esrom Kaun told AFP.
Vanuatu has for decades been beset by political instability, swapping prime ministers 20 times between 1991 and 2017.
The tumult reached crisis levels at the end of 2023, when three prime ministers rotated through the top office in the space of a month.
Many in Vanuatu have grown “frustrated” with the current crop of lawmakers and the country’s near-constant democratic wobbles, Kaun said.
Vanuatu’s parliament was dissolved in November before disgruntled MPs could launch a “no confidence” motion designed to topple Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.
The motion reportedly cited a grab bag of grievances including the flagging fortunes of national carrier Air Vanuatu, a teachers’ strike, and financial transparency questions.
Vanuatu’s 52-member parliament is typically dominated by independents and micro-parties, which clump together in coalitions that rarely last a full term.
Salwai will be joined by former prime ministers Ishmael Kalsakau and Bob Loughman among the 217 candidates running for office in the election.
Polls close at 4:30 pm local time (0530 GMT).
Election ‘distraction’