Doubts over politicians' desire for political reform in Vanuatu

Transcript

Measures to increase political stability in Vanuatu such as clamping down on party hopping have been outlined in a paper that will be debated by parties later this month.

One MP who has been calling for change is confident that an agreement will be reached to finally put an end to countless motions of no-confidence and uncertainty.

But a watchdog group says it remains to be seen whether politicians want to change a system that they've abused over many years.

Bridget Tunnicliffe reports:

The MP Ralph Regenvanu says the Prime Minister Moana Carcasses Kalosil will be calling for all presidents of political parties to discuss proposals to reform the political system during the next parliamentary session. The Minister of Lands says a paper outlining a number of options, which includes requiring political parties to register in accordance to specific criteria, has been prepared. He says another option is to give the party who wins the greatest number of seats the mandate to choose a prime minister, while cutting down on party hopping is also a high priority.

RALPH REGENVANU: If an MP wants to defect from a party they actually have to go back to by-election because they were elected under a party ticket and have to give the voters the opportunity to decide whether they wish to elect them on a different party ticket.

Ralph Regenvanu says changes would need the agreement of all parties and ones that require altering the constitution would have to go to referendum. But some believe a complete overhaul of the electoral system is what's needed. Transparency International Vanuatu has completed a report on last year's election which found major fraud took place. The chairperson Marie-Noelle Ferrieux-Patterson, says the main issues were discrepancies in voter registration and a lack of transparency in the second count of the votes.

MARIE-NOELLE FERRIEUX-PATTERSON: We found that from the electoral roll that there were 192,000 registered voters when in fact compared to the population that is more than 18 years old we should have only 120,000 people.

Vanuatu's first president, Ati Georges Sokomanu, says the country should have an upper house where the chiefs could sit. Mr Sokomanu, who is also advocating for a presidential system, says the great council of chiefs has no power and has to defer to the legislature.

ATI GEORGES SOKOMANU: I think the only thing now is to slot them in and have a lower house and an upper house in parliament and let the chiefs play their part in the development of Vanuatu.

Marie-Noelle Ferrieux-Patterson would like to see Vanuatu adopt a two-round runoff voting system, which she believes will stop the election of candidates who are only supported by a minority of the electorate. She says politicians right across the spectrum have been complicit in allowing an electoral system which can be mis-used.

MARIE-NOELLE FERRIEUX-PATTERSON: They're all absolutely responsible for what is happening, democracy doesn't apply in Vanuatu and especially when you look at the MPs representing five percent of the population in some places, it's almost a joke of democracy.

However Mr Regenvanu believes the first step is fixing the current system and thinks a move to electronic voting, which the Principal Electoral Officer has already started to investigate, will solve a lot of problems. He believes there is a genuine commitment among political parties for reform.