Early general elections were held in the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

on 29 November 1977 following the dissolution of the

Representative Assembly A representative assembly is a political institution in which a number of persons representing the population or privileged orders within the population of a state come together to debate, negotiate with the executive (originally the king or other ...

elected in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

due to the

Vanua'aku Pati The Vanua'aku Pati () is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu. History The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Part ...

blocking its work in order to protest the inclusion of members elected by the Chamber of Commerce. The Vanua'aku Pati and other pro-independence parties boycotted the elections, meaning no seats were contested.New Hebrides' new era
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1978, p28 The result was a victory for the francophone Tanunion.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p834

Nagriamel Nagriamel (sometimes seen as Vemarana, Vemerana or the Nagriamel Customs Union or Nagriamel Movement) is a political party in Vanuatu. History The party was established in January 1966 at a meeting of chiefs in Espiritu Santo convened by Chief ...

emerged as the second-largest party with seven seats.

Background

After the elections were announced, the Vanua'aku Pati issued a list of five demands that if not met, would result in them boycotting the elections. The demands were that voting rights be restricted to the indigenous population, the voting age be reduced to 18, a party winning a majority of seats be able to form a government alone, that the new government should have the powers required for self-government, and that an

independence referendum An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an Independence, independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independenc ...

be held by the end of the year.

Results

Of the 38 members elected, 26 were new to the Assembly.James Jupp & Marian Sawer (1979) "New Hebrides 1978-79: Self-Government by Whom and for Whom?", ''The Journal of Pacific History'', Volume 14, Number 4, pp208–220

won seven seats and the Natatok Efate party won five. Other parties that won seats included the Movement for the Autonomy of the New Hebrides (MANH), Tanunion (a successor to the UCNH) and the Federation of Independents (FEDIP). A majority group of 21 representatives was established by Tanunion, Natatok Efate and two independents. FEDIP, the MANH and

joined with three independents to form an opposition bloc holding the remaining 17 seats.

Aftermath

On election day the Vanua'aku Pati announced the establishment of a People's Provisional Government, raising its flag at 47 of 50 party locations. It subsequently which took control of large areas of several islands until it was dissolved in May 1978. When the newly elected Assembly met,

Maxime Carlot Korman Maxime Carlot Korman (born 26 April 1941) is a Vanuatuan politician, formerly serving as the speaker of the Parliament and formerly as acting president. He served as the prime minister of Vanuatu for nearly five years, first from 16 December 199 ...

was elected as its president. George Kalsakau of Natatok Efate was appointed as the first Chief Minister, heading a seven-member Council of Ministers including four members of the Tanunion/Natatko Efate group and two members of the FEDIP/MANH group. On 15 December 1978 Kalsakau lost a motion of no confidence by thirty votes to six, and was removed as Chief Minister; the following day he was appointed as the Speaker of the Assembly. On 21 December he was succeeded as Chief Minister by

Gérard Leymang Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitu ...

who formed a unity government including the Vanua'aku Pati. Vanua'aku Pati leader Walter Lini was appointed Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Social Affairs.Hebrides' red letter day
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1979, p21

References

{{Vanuatuan elections Elections in Vanuatu 1970s in Vanuatu 1977 election

November 1977 in Oceania Uncontested elections