Vanuatuan general election, 1991

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

By this date, Walter Lini of the Vanua'aku Pati had been Prime Minister for eleven years, the country's only leader since independence in 1980. Several months before the election, 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 UMP 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 71.3%.^[2]

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
Union of Moderate Parties	19,016	30.6	19	0
Vanua'aku Pati	14,058	22.6	10	-15
National United Party	12,672	20.4	10	New
Melanesian Progressive Party	9,562	15.4	4	New
Tan Union	2,852	4.6	1	New
Nagriamel	1,822	2.9	1	+1
Fren Melanesian Party	1,257	1.9	1	0
New People's Party	588	0.9	0	0
Vanuatu Independent Francophone	77	0.1	0	New
Independents	377	0.6	0	-1
Invalid/blank votes	375	-	-	-
Total	62,556	100	46	0
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

1. MILES, William F.S., Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2048-7, p.25
2. Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p842 ISBN 0-19-924959-8