Engagement in Vanuatu’s Political Reform

By Dr Alphonse Gelu
The Registrar Dr Alphonse Gelu was part of a team put together by the Commonwealth Secretariat based in London to facilitate a political dialogue for Vanuatu. The dialogue took place from February 24th to 26th 2015. The government of Vanuatu under the Prime Ministership of Hon Joe Natuman requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to assist in this process. The request to the Commonwealth was made by the Prime Minister to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat Kamalesh Sharma in September 2014. The two day dialogue which took place in the Parliament chambers ended with a plan to further pursue political reforms in Vanuatu. A total of 48 Members of Parliament from both the government and the opposition attended the two days dialogue and were given enough time to ask questions and make comments on the issues raised. It was obvious that there is a strong desire amongst the political leaders to address political instability in Vanuatu. Since 1991, political instability has impacted Vanuatu’s economic growth and national development. The process of political reform, therefore, aims to deepen Vanuatu’s democracy and developing a better process for the Government to pursue development and to improve the lives of the people of Vanuatu. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of Parliament in their addresses at the opening session all expressed their support for the dialogue process to assist with finding a solution to political instability through political reform. The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader even sat togather during the 2 days session an indication of cooperation between the leaders in Vanuatu. The Commonwealth Secretariat consisted of Albert Mariner – Head of Political Affairs within the Secretariat and responsible for the Pacific and Caribbean, Steven Malby – Head of the Rule of Law Division, Ms Tiffany Chan – Political Affairs Division, Brian Lange – Commonwealth Secretariat based in Honiara Solomon Islands and two resource advisors, Professor Don Patterson from the Emalus Law Campus, University of South Pacific , Vanuatu Campus and Dr Alphonse Gelu – Registrar, Registry of Political Parties, Papua New Guinea. The Registrar opened the two day dialogue by presenting a detailed picture of how the political reforms were undertaken in Papua New Guinea and the reasons behind the reforms. The presentation by the Registrar set the benchmark to eventually lead to the final agreement by the Members of Parliament on the way forward for the country. A number of agreements that was part of the way forward for Vanuatu were adopted from the presentation by Dr Gelu and they included; 1. Party winning the majority of seats after an election will be invited by the President to form the government 2. Independent candidates to join political parties within 2 weeks after their declaration 3. Political parties to be registered 4. Grace period to be introduced to allow a government to deliver 5. Political parties and winning candidates to furnish election returns and annual financial returns by political parties 6. Political parties to be funded by the State Dr Gelu was pleased that the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) influenced the thinking of the Leaders in Vanuatu resulting in the adoption of the above points. An extreme action taken by the leaders in Vanuatu is the idea that MPs who jump parties will automatically lose their seats in parliament. Dr Gelu explained that this was an idea that was floated in Papua New Guinea but then was abandoned due to strong opposition from the politicians. The idea to change the voting system was also discussed with the majority of the MPs supporting the proportional representation voting system. The Limited Preferential Voting system used in Papua New Guinea was also presented by Dr Gelu. Dr Gelu also mentioned that the Registry recently engaged researchers from the National Research Institute (NRI) to look into a voting system that supports political parties. This is part of the overall strategy that the Registry is taking in strengthening political parties rather than candidates. The study which is sponsored by the Registry should be completed at the end of March 2015. For Vanuatu, some of the proposed changes may proceed without any major changes to the Constitution, while others may require amendments to the Constitution and the rest will be included in a referendum. Dr Gelu believe that the use of a referendum is also a mechanism that Papua New Guinea should seriously look at because it is a process that allows the majority of the people to have a direct say into certain issues that would have greater impact on the lives of the people. The Registrar was happy to be part of the team which once again propelled the image and reputation of the Registry as a government agency that also shapes political reforms not only in the country but also in the region including the Solomon Islands and now Vanuatu.