Election 2016: The Commonwealth observes Vanuatu’s general election

18 January 2016
News

Voters in Vanuatu go to the polls on 22 January to elect a new Government. Read full coverage.

Overview

Voters in Vanuatu go to the polls on 22 January to elect a new Government. The snap election is being held nine months ahead of schedule, following a period of political instability which led President Baldwin Lonsdale to dissolve Parliament.

At the invitation of the Government, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma sent a team of independent observers to the capital, Port Vila, on 13 January. The five-person Commonwealth Observer Group is led by former Prime Minister of The Bahamas Hubert Ingraham.

The observers’ task is to assess all factors affecting the credibility of the elections to determine whether they were conducted according to both the laws of Vanuatu and international standards.

The group will issue an interim statement of key findings shortly after the election. A final report will be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General and sent to local stakeholders before being made public.

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Vanuatu Elections Image Library About the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth and elections

Since 1980, the Commonwealth has observed more than 130 elections in 36 countries. Commonwealth observers have contributed to the entrenchment of democratic practices globally by offering recommendations for practical action and giving voters confidence that an independent, impartial and public view will be taken on the integrity of an electoral process. Read more

The Commonwealth Charter recognises the ‘inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live’. The Commonwealth Charter

Meet the Observer Group

Chair: Rt Hon Hubert Ingraham, Former Prime Minister of The Bahamas

Before entering front line politics Mr Ingraham was a senior partner at a private law firm in the Bahamas. He began his first term as Prime Minister of The Bahamas in 1992. He was in office between 1992 and 2002 and 2007-2012. After resigning in 2012 Mr Ingraham returned to his private law practice at Ingram law Chambers.

This is Mr Ingraham’s second Commonwealth Observer Group mission. In 2014 he was chair of the Observer Group to Mozambique.

Jane Prentice MP, Federal Member for Ryan, Australia

Before entering public life, Mrs Prentice owned and managed a successful convention and event management firm. Prior to her election to Federal Parliament, she served for 10 years as Councillor for the Brisbane City Council ward.

Mrs Prentice was elected to the House of Representatives for the Federal Seat of Ryan as the Liberal National Party Candidate on 21 August 2010. She is also Chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on electoral matters. She has previously observed elections in Timor-Leste and Bougainville as part of a UN-led Australian Observer Group.

Enrico Woolford, Editor-in-Chief Capitol News, Guyana

Enrico Woolford is the Editor in Chief of Capitol News, a television broadcast channel in Guyana. He was previously Head of Current Affairs (Radio) at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation and helped to develop Guyana’s National Communication Network. In 1993, he founded Capitol News.

Mr Woolford has extensively covered the Guyanese and Caribbean narcotics operations. He was President of the Guyana Press Association and continues to serve on the Executive Council of that body.

Walter Rigamoto, Former Ombudsman and Supervisor of Elections, Fiji

A lawyer by training, Mr Rigamoto was Head of the Elections Office in Fiji and was subsequently Ombudsman. He was appointed UN International Electoral Commissioner for the East Timor Presidential Elections in 2002, and has been an Election Observer for the UN, Commonwealth Secretariat and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat since 2001. Mr Rigamoto is currently working as an Adviser with the Electoral Systems Strengthening Project in the Solomon Islands.

Jessica Nkuuhe, Gender, Peace and Security Expert Uganda

Ms Nkuuhe works with Civil Society Organisations on women’s human rights, peace-building and human security issues. She has participated in civil society election observation missions in three West African countries, and was a gender, peace and security expert during the 2014 elections in the Solomon Islands. She is currently working on a process to involve women and the youth in ensuring peaceful elections in Uganda.

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Join the converstion online: @commonwealthsec #VanuatuElections #CommonwealthElections

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