The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative parliamentary system. The head of the Republic is an elected President. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the head of government.
The National United Party is a political party in Vanuatu. It was founded by Vanuatu's independence leader Walter Lini when he broke away from the Vanua'aku Pati, alongside businessman Đinh Văn Thân. It is a social democratic party which traditionally received most of its support from English speakers.
The Union of Moderate Parties is a liberal political party in Vanuatu founded in 1981. At the last general election, held on 22 January 2016, they won 9.73% of the vote and 6 seats. It is currently headed by Ishmael Kalsakau.
The Vanuatu Republican Party is a centrist political party in Vanuatu. At the last general elections, held on 22 January 2016, they won no seats and 1.75% of the vote. Its leader is Maxime Carlot Korman, who was previously a member of the Union of Moderate Parties and had served as Prime Minister of Vanuatu while a member of the UMP. Korman and the Republican Party were part of the coalition government led by Ham Lini's National United Party from 2004 to 2008, and Korman served in the cabinet as minister of lands.
Nagriamel is a political party in Vanuatu.
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 2 September 2008. In July the Melanesian Progressive Party requested that they be postponed, contesting the constitutionality of the Peoples Representation Act No. 33 of 2007, which allegedly enabled voters in certain constituencies to vote in two constituencies. The Principal Electoral Officer, Martin Tete, confirmed that the election would take place on 2 September, as scheduled. The day was declared a national holiday, to encourage people to vote.
Christianity is the largest religion in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities.
The Vanuatu Labour Party is a political party in Vanuatu. The party was established on 3 June 1987. It was founded on the initiative of various trade union organizations in order to contest the 1987 parliamentary election. The proposal to found the party was first presented by Ephraim Kalsakau, a leader of the Vanuatu Municipal Workers Union.
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 30 November 1987. Ni-Vanuatu voters were invited to elect the 46 members of an expanded national Parliament, which had previously held 39 seats.
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 30 November 1995. Ni-Vanuatu voters were invited to elect the 50 members of the national Parliament.
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 6 March 1998. They "were held under the shadow of a state of emergency and were accompanied by an unusually low turnout rate", with only 64% of registered voters casting a ballot.
The Cabinet of Vanuatu is the cabinet of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu.
Gilbert Đinh Văn Thân, more commonly known as Đinh Văn Thân, is a ni-Vanuatu businessperson and former politician. Ron Crocombe described him in 2007 as "perhaps the wealthiest entrepreneur and largest private employer in Vanuatu, and many say the most politically influential [...] citizen".
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 30 October 2012. The previous elections to the 52-member Parliament of Vanuatu were held in 2008. The largest parties in this election were the socialist Vanua'aku Party, which won 11 seats, and the social-democratic National United Party. Thirteen other parties as well as four independents won parliamentary seats. As a result, Edward Natapei of the Vanua'aku Party was able to become the Prime Minister. Since then, both Serge Vohor of the conservative Union of Moderate Parties and Sato Kilman of the People's Progressive Party have held that position, with Kilman being the incumbent Prime Minister of Vanuatu at the time of the 2012 election.
A by-election was held in the Tanna constituency in Vanuatu on 27 May 2013. It followed the death of incumbent MP Harry Iauko, who was also the Minister for Infrastructure, Public Utilities and Public Service.
A by-election to the Parliament of Vanuatu was held in the constituency of Port-Vila on 15 October 2015. It followed the death of sitting MP Edward Natapei, of the centre-left Vanua'aku Pati. Natapei died after a long illness in July. Although Port-Vila is a multi-member constituency, only one seat was vacant, and therefore only one new member was elected.
Rural Development Party (RDP) is a political party in Vanuatu. It was formed as a renaming of the Iauko Group (IG) in 2014 and then as a separate party in 2020.
