A high-profile independent candidate in Vanuatu's general election believes the country is on the verge of economic and social disaster.
Former ombudsman and founder of the Vanuatu chapter of Transparency International, Marie-Noelle Ferrieux-Patterson, quotes the state of the local police force as an example of the social problems.
"The police are extremely weak, has almost been weakened, it looks almost voluntarily by the politicians. The Public Prosecutor office there's not one permanent staff in there nobody. The economic situtation is going down all the time, and it's probably the worst time we have experienced for many many years."
Marie-Noelle Ferrieux-Patterson could become the first ex-patriate elected to the Vanuatu parliament.
