General elections were held in Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

 on 6 March 1998. They "were held under the shadow of a state of emergency (the result of riots in Port Vila

Port Vila

Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...

 over governmental financial improprieties) and were accompanied by an unusually low turnout rate", with only 61.6% of registered voters casting a ballot.

The Vanua'aku Pati

Vanua'aku Pati

The Vanua'aku Pati is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 11 out of 52 seats, becoming the largest party in Parliament....

, led by Donald Kalpokas

Donald Kalpokas

Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas is a ni-Vanuatu politician and diplomat who served as prime minister of Vanuatu twice.Kalpokas was born on Efate island. Along with Walter Lini he founded the Vanua'aku Pati a political party which supported political independence for Vanuatu, socialist policies, and...

, obtained 18 seats. The ruling Union of Moderate Parties

Union of Moderate Parties

The Union of Moderate Parties is a conservative Francophone political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 7 out of 52 seats...

 obtained 12, while the National United Party

National United Party (Vanuatu)

The Vanuatu National United Party is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 8 out of 52 seats. It is a social democratic party which receives most of its support from English speakers...

 obtained 11, and the Melanesian Progressive Party

Melanesian Progressive Party

The Melanesian Progressive Party is a political party in Vanuatu. At the last legislative elections, 6 July 2004, the party won 4 out of 52 seats, an increase of 2 seats. Despite its small number of seats it has been important in setting up coalition governments since the 1990s. Its most prominent...

 6.

The Vanua'aku Pati returned to power for the first time since 1991, forming a coalition with the NUP. Donald Kalpokas

Donald Kalpokas

Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas is a ni-Vanuatu politician and diplomat who served as prime minister of Vanuatu twice.Kalpokas was born on Efate island. Along with Walter Lini he founded the Vanua'aku Pati a political party which supported political independence for Vanuatu, socialist policies, and...

 (VP) became Prime Minister, with Walter Lini

Walter Lini

Father Walter Hadye Lini was an Anglican priest and the founding Prime Minister of Vanuatu. He was born on Pentecost Island. During the era when Vanuatu was a condominium ruled by the United Kingdom and France, Lini formed the Vanua'aku Pati, which was principally backed by English-speakers...

 (NUP) as deputy Prime Minister. The new government was exclusively anglophone

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, following the defeat of the francophone

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 UMP.

Results

5

2

1

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
Vanua'aku Pati Vanua'aku Pati The Vanua'aku Pati is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 11 out of 52 seats, becoming the largest party in Parliament....	14,467	21.0	18
Union of Moderate Parties Union of Moderate Parties The Union of Moderate Parties is a conservative Francophone political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 7 out of 52 seats...	13,833	20.1	12
National United Party National United Party (Vanuatu) The Vanuatu National United Party is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 8 out of 52 seats. It is a social democratic party which receives most of its support from English speakers...	10,947	15.9	11
Melanesian Progressive Party Melanesian Progressive Party The Melanesian Progressive Party is a political party in Vanuatu. At the last legislative elections, 6 July 2004, the party won 4 out of 52 seats, an increase of 2 seats. Despite its small number of seats it has been important in setting up coalition governments since the 1990s. Its most prominent...	9,669	14.0	6
Vanuatu Republican Party Vanuatu Republican Party The Vanuatu Republican Party is a political party in Vanuatu.At the last legislative elections, 1 September 2008, the party won 7 out of 52 seats. Its leader is Maxime Carlot Korman, who was previously a member of the Union of Moderate Parties and had served as Prime Minister of Vanuatu while a...	5,232	7.6	1	New
John Frum Movement	1,539	2.2	2	New
People's Democratic Party	748	1.1	0	0
Movement Blong Yumi	656	1.0	0	New
Liberal Party	567	0.8	0	New
Vanuatu Women in Politics	488	0.7	0	0
Christian Independent Candidates	288	0.4	0	0
Nagriamel Custom Federation	162	0.2	0
Other parties	299	1.1	0
Independents	10,067	14.6	2	0
Invalid/blank votes	492
Total	76,522	100	52	+2
Source: Nohlen et al