Government

Government#

parliamentary republic

System

parliamentary republic

Capital

Port-Vila (on Efate)

Head of state

President Nikenike VUROBARAVU (since 23 July 2022)

Head of government

Prime Minister Jotham NAPAT (since 11 February 2025)

Legislature

legislature name: Parliament; legislative structure: unicameral; number of seats: 52 (all directly elected); electoral system: proportional representation; scope of elections: full renewal; term in office: 4 years; most recent election date: 1/16/2025; parties elected and seats per party: Leaders Party of Vanuatu (LPV) (9); Vanua’aku Pati (VP) (7); Iauko Group (IG) (6); Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) (6); Rural Development Party (RDP) (6); Graon mo Jastis Pati (Land and Justice Party, GJP) (5); Reunification Movement for Change (RMC) (5); Other (8); percentage of women in chamber: 1.9%; expected date of next election: January 2029

Judiciary

highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of 2 or more judges of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 puisne judges – 3 local and 3 expatriate); judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other judges appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, a 4-member advisory body; judges serve until the age of retirement; subordinate courts: Magistrates Courts; Island Courts

Constitution

history: draft completed August 1979, finalized by constitution conference 19 September 1979, ratified by French and British Governments 23 October 1979, effective 30 July 1980 at independence; amendment process: proposed by the prime minister or by the Parliament membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by Parliament in special session with at least three fourths of the membership; passage of amendments affecting the national and official languages, or the electoral and parliamentary system also requires approval in a referendum

Independence

30 July 1980 (from France and the UK)

Administrative divisions

6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba

Departments#

TODO. Ministries and authoritative sites, to be filled out.

Hierarchy#

How power is wired. The diagram below carries the generic template; refine the boxes and edges to match the current regime.

        flowchart TD
  HoS["Head of State"]
  HoG["Head of Government"]
  Leg["Legislature"]
  Jud["Judiciary"]
  Cab["Cabinet"]
  Foreign["Foreign Affairs"]
  Interior["Interior"]
  Defense["Defense"]
  Finance["Finance"]
  Justice["Justice"]

  HoS --> HoG
  HoG --> Cab
  Cab --> Foreign
  Cab --> Interior
  Cab --> Defense
  Cab --> Finance
  Cab --> Justice
  HoS -.- Leg
  HoS -.- Jud

Resources#

Public-facing portals the people use day to day. Operators monitor these for policy changes, official notices, and civil-registry data.

Resource

Site

Purpose

National portal

to be filled

One-stop government services for citizens.

Tax / revenue

to be filled

Income tax, VAT, customs.

Civil registry

to be filled

Births, deaths, marriages, national ID.

Immigration

to be filled

Visas, residency, naturalisation.

Health

to be filled

Public health, advisories, vaccination records.

Education

to be filled

Curricula, school directories, transcripts.

Statistics

to be filled

Census, economic indicators, opendata.

Police / emergency

to be filled

Reporting, missing persons, emergency contacts.
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