1979 New Hebridean general election

General elections were held in the New Hebrides on 14 November 1979 for the seats in Representative Assembly, the last before independence the following year. The result was a victory for the Vanua'aku Pati, which won 25 of the 39 seats, with its partner party Natui Tanno winning one. Voter turnout was 90.3%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p839 0-19-924959-8 Background Prior to the elections, the New Hebrides Federal Party was formed by former members of Tanunion and Natatok, as well as members of Nagriamel.NH right to try uniting Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1979, p35 Electoral system The 39 members of the legislature were elected from 15 constituencies.Premdas Ralph R. Steeves Jeffrey S. 1989 Vanuatu: The 1987 national elections and their aftermath∗ http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223348908572606 The Journal of Pacific History en 24 1 110–117 10.1080/00223348908572606 0022-3344 subscription Results Vanua'aku Pati 28636 25 New Hebrides Federal Party 5742 5 Moderate Party 2731 2 Namangi Aute 1985 2 John Frum Movement 1050 1 Kapiel 985 1 Natui Tanno 719 1 Kastom 683 0 Natatok 640 0 Tabwemasana 155 0 Independents 3796 2 418 0 52636 ZorgbibeCharles Zorgbibe (1981) "Vanuatu, naissance d'un état", Économica, pp110–115 Aftermath After it was announced that the Vanua'aku Pati had also won a majority on the regional assembly election of Espiritu Santo were announced, supporters of Nagriamel and Tabwemasana took to the streets with weapons to tell immigrants to leave the island. Almost 360 people took sanctuary in the Anglican church compound and around 350–500 people fled the island. On 29 November the Representative Assembly elected Walter Lini as Chief Minister. Lini received 26 votes, defeating Gérard Leymang who received three; three members abstained and seven MHAs from Espiritu Santo boycotted the session, claiming there had been electoral fraud.New Hebrides: High hopes haunted by high danger Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1980, pp13–14 PositionMemberChief MinisterMinister of JusticeWalter LiniDeputy Chief MinisterMinister of the InteriorGeorge KalkoaMinister of EducationDonald KalpokasMinister of FinanceKalpokor KalsakauMinister of HealthGeorge WorekMinister of LandsSethy RegenvanuMinister of Natural ResourcesThomas ReubenMinister of Social AffairsWillie KorisaMinister of Transport, Communications and Civil AviationJohn Naupa See also List of members of the Parliament of Vanuatu (1979–1983) References Category:Elections in Vanuatu Category:1970s in Vanuatu 1979 election New Hebrides Category:November 1979 in Oceania