Thousands of Vanuatu youth denied chance to vote

Transcript

A youth advocacy group in Vanuatu says this Friday's snap election will deny thousands of young people their constitutional rights.

The president of the organisation Vanuatu Youth Against Corruption, Priscilla Meto, says more than 70 percent of people who turned 18 after the last election in 2012 will be unable to vote on Friday.

She says this is because the nature of the snap election means the Electoral Commission has been unable to issue new electoral cards to many of those people.

Ms Meto told our Vanuatu correspondent, Hilaire Bule, this is unfair as it means more than 3,000 young people will not be able to exercise their right to vote, and will have to wait until 2020 to be heard.

PRISCILLA METO: It will be very unfair because most of them will not be casting the votes to participate in this election to share what they want during this snap election because after four years then we have another election. By this one they will just cast their vote to put someone that they know is addressing the issue but at the moment for this snap election most of them that have just turned 18 after the 2012 general election they will not cast their vote. I'm not sure the process the electoral officers taken but to my understanding I think it is with the period of timing so they can't implement new cards for the youths.

HILAIRE BULE: Many of the political parties, are they mentioning they will defend youth interests when they go into parliament?

PM: Yes. Many of the candidates now, one of the sessions they will address youth. But I have been talking with some politicans, candidates, that maybe this point is not well addressed in this snap election because most of the youth will not be casting their votes. So there will not be much issue of the youths addressed in parliament.

HB: Your organisation is mainly targeting the corruption with these 14 MPs who are now in jail and now you have to wait another four years.

PM: Yes. We are aware of what has happened and now we have 14 MPs inside jail now. And it takes another four years for the youth to put their voice in. Addressing the issue of corruption here in Vanuatu is really difficult because most of the youths can't access the information - how to address it or where to start.