Scandal Forces Vanuatu to Address Inadequacies of Political System

Last week, when Vanuatu’s president, Baldwin Lonsdale, was out of the country, the speaker of Parliament pardoned himself and 13 lawmakers for allegedly accepting bribes to vote down the previous government. On Friday, 11 of the 14 pardoned parliamentarians were arrested. In an email interview, Derek Brien, the executive director of the Vanuatu-based Pacific Institute of Public Policy, discussed politics in Vanuatu. WPR: What explains Vanuatu’s historical political instability, and what impact has it had on the country’s governance and democracy? Derek Brien: The electoral system rewards personality politics and facilitates minority representation. It also complicates party dynamics, as candidates […]