By Leah Lowonbu in Port Vila
Vanuatu’s only incumbent female parliamentarian has lost her seat in a snap election leaving only one woman candidate in contention after an unofficial vote count.
The unofficial counting at polling locations indicated the majority of the 52 incumbent MPs have been reelected but also with some high profile departures.
Former deputy prime minister Jotham Napat, head of the Leaders Party, has secured up to nine MPs, putting him in poll position to try to form a coalition government.
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Vanuatu’s snap election last Thursday was called in November and held in spite of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that devastated the capital Port Vila in December.
The election results will be confirmed by the official count of votes in the capital once all ballot boxes have been transported from electorates to Port Vila.
Former female MP Julia King from the Efate constituency has likely lost her seat.
She made international headlines in 2022 as the first woman elected in Vanuatu in more than a decade and only the sixth woman to serve in Parliament since the nation’s independence in 1980.
Only hope for women
Marie Louis Milne, a candidate for the Port Vila constituency, has emerged as the only hope for a woman to sit in the chamber in the next term. Both Milne and a male candidate claim to have won the sixth and final seat in the electorate, based on the unofficial figures.
“The high number of voters supporting women is a positive indication of changing perceptions surrounding women’s leadership and decision-making,” Milne told BenarNews.
“There are numerous pressing issues we want to address in Parliament, including women’s health and their economic development.”
The possible lack of female representation is a disappointment for Vanuatu governance and development policy specialist Anna Naupa.
Marie Louis Milne, a candidate for the Port Vila constituency, has emerged as the only hope for a woman to sit in the chamber in the next term. Both Milne and a male candidate claim to have won the sixth and final seat in the electorate, based on the unofficial figures.
“The high number of voters supporting women is a positive indication of changing perceptions surrounding women’s leadership and decision-making,” Milne told BenarNews.
“There are numerous pressing issues we want to address in Parliament, including women’s health and their economic development.”
Gender disappointment
The possible lack of female representation is a disappointment for Vanuatu governance and development policy specialist Anna Naupa.
“We will wait for the official results, and if that turns out to be true, it is a sad reality for our country (that) women continue to face significant challenges in entering Parliament,” Naupa told BenarNews.
“We really need to look back at systems we have in place to help facilitate voices of women and vulnerable groups in our society.
“This means the new legislature needs to pull up its socks to listen to all people, at every level of society.”
This election there were seven women among the 217 candidates contesting, matching the number in 2022 but down from 18 in 2020.
Several high profile MPs losing seats
The unofficial results show several high profile MPs are likely to lose their seats, including four-time prime minister Sato Kilman, head of the People’s Progressive Party.
Leaders from seven parties were re-elected including former prime minister Charlot Salwai from the Reunification Movement for Change, former prime minister Ishmael Kalsakau of the Union of Moderate Parties and former foreign minister Ralph Regenvanu of the Graon mo Jastis Pati.
“I am happy to return again and start working very soon — that’s all I have to say for now,” Regenvanu told BenarNews.
Other leaders thanked their voters on social media for their re-election.
Hopes for a generational change in Parliament rest with the few new MPs who look likely to be elected, including Matai Kaltabang in Julia King’s former electorate in Efate.
If elected, the member of the Iauko Group will be the youngest person in the 14th Parliament, at the age of 28 years old, and one of the youngest ever elected.
Parliamentary standing orders require the first sitting of the house be convened within 21 days of the election.
Despite the setbacks in the unofficial results for women, Milne remains optimistic, urging the six other female candidates who participated in the elections to persevere.
“I encourage them to never give up, build on what they have, and continue to make a difference in their communities so that in four years, we can see more women represented in Parliament,” she said.
Leah Lowonbu is a BenarNews contributor. Stefan Armbruster contributed to this report from Brisbane. Copyright BenarNews 2025 and republished with permission.
