The voter turnout in Port Vila during the recent national snap election was approximately 38.7%, meaning the elected leaders were chosen by a minority of voters. The majority, 61.3%, did not exercise their right to vote.
The Port Vila Constituency recorded a very low voter turnout in the 5th snap election. Out of 28,449 registered voters, fewer than 11,000 people cast their votes. The Daily Postcannot verify the percentage of Port Vila’s snap election turnout in the 2022 snap election; however, the overall percentage of voter turnout in the 2022 snap election was 50%.
Therefore, the current elected Members of Parliament (MPs) were voted in by a minority of Port Vila’s total population.
Edward Kaltamat, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, told the Daily Post that while there are over 28,449 registered voters, voting in Vanuatu is not compulsory. The Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO) worked hard to encourage people to vote, but many still did not show up.
Kaltamat mentioned one polling station where 500 voters were registered, but only 130 turned up to vote.
“Voting and registration are not compulsory,” he said. “In some countries, voter turnout is as high as 90%, but here, the turnout has been much lower. In the last referendum, voter turnout was only 44%. Many people whose names are on the electoral roll don’t come to vote.
“There are many possible reasons for this. Some may be tired of voting, others might be traveling without assigning a proxy, and some may simply choose not to participate. Out of over 28,000 registered voters, we would normally expect over 20,000 to vote. However, only 11,000 turned up this time.”
Kaltamat added that the VEO could not force people to vote, despite efforts to educate and encourage participation.
The Daily Post also spoke with Erima Kalmet, a presiding officer at the Freshwota polling station in Port Vila. Kalmet reported a low turnout at this station.
“The Freshwota school polling station had 3,596 registered voters, but only 2,415 votes were cast. Of these, 1,813 were from previously registered voters, and 602 were new registrations,” she said.
Kalmet explained that the low turnout was partly due to people’s names missing from the electoral roll.
“Many people who live in the Freshwota area found that their names were not on the roll. This could be because they registered elsewhere during the snap election in 2022 or in previous elections. Additionally, some residents of Freshwota never registered to vote in this area, which affected the overall turnout,” she said.
The Electoral Commission and polling officials continue to stress the importance of voter participation in strengthening democracy in Vanuatu.
SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST
