Sawt Falasteen - Quake-stricken Vanuatu heads to polls in snap election

A 7.3-magnitude tremor struck Vanuatu on December 17, rupturing roads, toppling buildings in the capital Port Vila and killing at least 14 people.

Some fear the election is poorly timed and will distract from more pressing issues and development priorities as weary citizens rebuild after the quake.

"Instability will not help Vanuatu right now, especially after the earthquake. The whole nation has been affected by the earthquake," Port Vila candidate Mike Esrom Kaun told AFP.

Vanuatu has been beset by political instability for decades, swapping prime minister 20 times between 1991 and 2017.

The situation reached crisis levels at the end of 2023 when three prime ministers rotated through the top office in the space of a month.

Many in Vanuatu have grown "frustrated" with the current crop of lawmakers and the country's near-constant democratic wobbles, Kaun said.

Vanuatu's parliament was dissolved in November before disgruntled MPs could launch a motion of no confidence, designed to topple Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

The motion reportedly cited a list of grievances, including the flagging fortunes of national carrier Air Vanuatu, a teachers' strike and financial transparency questions.

Vanuatu's 52-member parliament is typically dominated by independents and micro-parties, which clump together in coalitions that rarely last a full term.

Salwai will be joined by former prime ministers Ishmael Kalsakau and Bob Loughman among the 217 candidates running for office.

- Election 'distraction' -

There are concerns the constant threat of instability has shifted attention away from natural disasters, the country's faltering economy and an ever-present threat of climate change.

Vanuatu's political squabbling has derailed progress in crucial areas like health and education, said Riley Duke, an analyst at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

"The election really is another distraction from development priorities," he told AFP.

"Vanuatu is a developing country with huge challenges. Its key indicators -- income, health outcomes and education performance -- have been declining in recent years," he added.

The volcanic archipelago with a population of 330,000 is also highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as tropical cyclones, flooding and earthquakes, according to the World Risk Report.

Like many of its South Pacific neighbours, Vanuatu has also been trying to balance ties with partners in the West and an increasingly generous China.

State-backed Chinese companies have carried out a slew of infrastructure projects across Vanuatu, while Beijing picked up the tab for a new presidential palace last year.

About 40 percent of Vanuatu's external debt is owed to Chinese banks, according to the Lowy Institute.

Before gaining independence in 1980, Vanuatu was a colony known as the New Hebrides that was carved up between the British and the French.

F.Qawasmeh--SF-PST