1991 Vanuatuan general election

←  1987 2 December 1991 1995 →
All 46 seats in Parliament 23 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	71.33%
Party Leader % Seats +/– UMP Maxime Carlot Korman 30.58 19 0 Vanua'aku Pati Donald Kalpokas 22.61 10 −16 National United Walter Lini 20.38 10 New Melanesian Progressive Barak Sopé 15.38 4 New Tan Union [ fr] 4.59 1 New Nagriamel Jimmy Stevens 2.93 1 +1 Friend Melanesian 1.86 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Donald Kalpokas Vanua'aku Maxime Carlot Korman Union of Moderate Parties

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General elections were held in Vanuatu on 2 December 1991. Ni-Vanuatu voters were invited to elect the 46 members of the national Parliament.

At the time of the elections, Walter Lini of the Vanua'aku Pati had been Prime Minister for eleven years and the country's only leader since independence in 1980. Several months before the elections, he was replaced by Donald Kalpokas as leader of the Vanua'aku Pati, and formed his own National United Party.

Seven parties contested the election. The Union of Moderate Parties obtained 19 seats, the same number as during the previous election, but this time these were sufficient to place it in the lead. The Vanua'aku Pati and the National United Party obtained ten seats each, marking the VP's first electoral defeat.

With no absolute majority, the Union of Moderate Parties formed a ruling coalition with the NUP. Maxime Carlot Korman (UMP) became Vanuatu's first francophone Prime Minister, with NUP co-founder Sethy Regenvanu as deputy Prime Minister. ^[1] Voter turnout was 71%. ^[2]

The result was significant, as Vanuatu's previous post-independence governments had been oriented towards the Anglophone population. ^[3] Prior to the 1991 elections, only ten percent of the Vanuatu administration was Francophone and no cabinet members had been Francophone since independence. ^[3] Vanuatu's foreign policy had also been hostile to France. ^[3]

Electoral system

Most members were elected by single non-transferable vote in multi-seat districts having two to six members each. Four members were elected through first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Union of Moderate Parties	19,016	30.58	19	0
	Vanua'aku Pati	14,058	22.61	10	–16
	National United Party	12,672	20.38	10	New
	Melanesian Progressive Party	9,562	15.38	4	New
	Tan Union [ fr]	2,852	4.59	1	New
	Nagriamel	1,822	2.93	1	+1
	Friend Melanesian Party	1,157	1.86	1	0
	New People's Party	588	0.95	0	0
	Vanuatu Independent Francophone	77	0.12	0	New
	Independents	377	0.61	0	0
Total		62,181	100.00	46	0
Valid votes		62,181	99.40
Invalid/blank votes		375	0.60
Total votes		62,556	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		87,695	71.33
Source: Official Gazette, [4] Nohlen et al. [2]

By constituency

See also

• List of members of the Parliament of Vanuatu (1991–1995)

References