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Nagriamel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Song Keaspai |
| Founded | January 1966 |
| Ideology | Ni-Vanuatu traditionalism Espiritu Santo autonomy Regionalism Cultural conservatism Economic liberalism Welfarism |
| Political position | Center to center-right |
| Religion | John Frum cargo cult |
| Parliament | 1 / 52 |
Nagriamel (sometimes seen as Vemarana, Vemerana or the Nagriamel Customs Union or Nagriamel Movement) is a political party in Vanuatu.
The party was established in January 1966 at a meeting of chiefs in Espiritu Santo convened by Chief Buluk of Big Bay. [1] The first territory-wide political movement in the New Hebrides, by 1969 it was estimated to have around 10,000 members (around one in eight of the population), mostly in the north of the territory. [1] The name 'Nagriamel' was taken from combining the names of two plants, nagria (a croton) and mel (a cycas). [1] Soon after its establishment, Jimmy Stevens became involved with the party after offering to sell guns to the chiefs. [1] He used much of the funds donated to the party to build an agricultural complex in Vanafo. [1]
The party called for the return of all European-owned land that had not been used for agricultural development, [1] It also held the view that the New Hebrides was not ready for independence and the modernization it would bring, though the party was reputedly manipulated by anti-independence French factions and the Phoenix Foundation. In the 1975 elections, the party won two of the 29 popularly elected seats in the new Representative Assembly.
As the independence movement gathered momentum after 1975, led by the more Anglo-centric Walter Lini and the Vanua'aku Pati, Nagriamel sought to delay the end of British–French condominium. With backing from the Phoenix Foundation, Nagriamel declared the independence of the 'Republic of Vemerana' on Santo on the eve of independence in 1980. Vanua'aku Party and Papua New Guinean soldiers quashed the new state weeks later. Reprisals against Nagriamel supporters spread throughout the northern islands.
Following independence, the party contested the 1983 elections, winning one seat, taken by Harry Karaeu. This seat was lost in the 1987 elections, but the party won a seat again in the 1991 elections. The party retained its single seat in the 1995 elections, but lost their parliamentary representation in the 1998 elections. It regained a seat in the 2008 elections, with Havo Moli elected in Malo/Aore. [2] Moli was subsequently appointed Minister for Agriculture.
In the 2012 elections the party won three seats, with Moli joined in parliament by Samsen Samson and John Lum. [2] It retained all three seats in the 2016 elections before losing two in 2020. In the 2022 election the party retained its only seat and remained in the opposition.
The party tends to support Vanuatu's status as a tax haven as well as private enterprise, but is in favour of free education and health care (generally a position popular on the left), and is against modern individualism corrupting customary values.
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Jimmy Stevens | 650 | 1.26 (#4) | 0 / 29 | New | Extra-parliamentary |
| 1977 | Boycotted | 0 / 38 |  0 | Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 1979 | Did not contest | 0 / 39 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 1983 | 1,254 | 2.84 (#4) | 1 / 39 |  1 | Opposition | |
| 1987 | 766 | 1.36 (#1) | 0 / 46 |  0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1991 | 1,822 | 2.93 (#6) | 1 / 46 | 1 | Opposition | |
| 1995 | ? | 1,337 | 1.76 (#1) | 1 / 50 | 0 | Opposition |
| 1998 | 162 | 0.23 (#13) | 0 / 52 | 1 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2002 | 505 | 0.64 (#14) | 0 / 52 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2004 | 405 | 0.44 (#16) | 0 / 52 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2008 | 3,016 | 2.87 (#10) | 1 / 52 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2012 | 5,092 | 4.23 (#7) | 3 / 52 | 2 | Coalition | |
| 2016 | Moli Abel Nako | 4,128 | 3.65 (#9) | 3 / 52 | 0 | Coalition |
| 2020 | Song Keaspai | 2,980 | 2.07 (#10) | 1 / 52 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2022 | 3,240 | 2.45 (#9) | 1 / 52 | 0 | Opposition | |
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia, located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
The history of Vanuatu spans over 3,200 years.
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.
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of 3,955.5 km2 (1,527.2 sq mi) and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Walter Hadye Lin̄i was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. On his mother's side, he was a descendant of the high chief Virasangvulu, while on his father's side, he was descended from the famous weaver, Nuenue, as well as from the high chief Viralalau.
The flag of Vanuatu was adopted on 18 February 1980.
Jimmy Stevens, known as "Moses", was a Ni-Vanuatu nationalist and politician.
The Vanua'aku Pati is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu.
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 Phoenix Foundation is a libertarian foundation that has supported numerous attempts to create independent libertarian states through freebooting. The foundation was created by Nevada-based real estate millionaire Michael Oliver, his friend James Murt McKeever, and investment advisor Harry D. Schultz.
The Cabinet of Vanuatu is the cabinet of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu.
The Coconut War was a brief clash between Papua New Guinean soldiers and rebels in Espiritu Santo shortly before and after the independence of the Republic of Vanuatu was declared on 30 July 1980.
General elections were held for the first time in the New Hebrides on 10 November 1975. The result was a victory for the New Hebrides National Party, which won 17 seats in the new Representative Assembly.
Early general elections were held in the New Hebrides on 29 November 1977 following the dissolution of the Representative Assembly elected in 1975 due to the Vanua'aku Pati blocking its work in order to protest the inclusion of members elected by the Chamber of Commerce.
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%.
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.
The Iauko Group or Eagle Group is a political party in Vanuatu.
Alexis Yolou was a New Hebridean politician. He was elected to the Representative Assembly in 1979 from the Tanna constituency, but was killed the following year as part of the civil strife on Tanna that resulted from the landslide victory of the Vanua'aku Pati.
Mary Laufa Gilu is a Vanuatuan former politician. She and Tessa Fowler were the first women elected to the New Hebrides Representative Assembly, serving from 1975 to 1977.
