Gender Quotas Database
Vanuatu
Melanesia
At a glance
| Structure of parliament | Unicameral |
Are there legislated quotas
Are there voluntary quotas?
| Is there additional information? | Yes |
Single / Lower House
Parliament
| Total seats | 51 |
| Total women | 1 |
| Percentage of women | 2% |
| Gender Quota target | |
| Election year | 2022 |
| Electoral system | SNTV |
| Quota type | |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Gender Quota target | 26% |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law | For Municipal Council elections, 1 seat in every ward in a municipality must be reserved for a woman (Amendment to the Municipalities Act, 2013). |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
In 2013, the Vanuatu Parliament passed a historic amendment to the Municipalities Act, providing for reserved seats for women in the municipal councils. The quota provision is regarded as a ‘special temporary measure’ and will be implemented for the first time in the Port Vila Municipal Council elections scheduled to take place in December 2013. The Port Vila Municipal Council has 14 seats, 13 of which are currently occupied by male councillors. In the forthcoming elections, five seats will be reserved for women candidates who will be elected from a separate ballot. A female candidate can either contest a reserved seat or a general seat in a ward.
12 % of councillors elected were women, after the 2017 March provincial elections. "Following the 2017 provincial elctions, there was one elected female councillor plus six appointed by the Department of Local Authorities to represent women in each provincial council. For the Municipal councils, 11 women were elected through the reserved seats arrangement"(Commonwealth Local Government Forum).
Sources
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Vanuatu on iKNOW Politics
- Baker, K. (2019), Reserved seats in Vanuatu: gender equality and “foreign interference”, Newstex, Acton.
- C. Mccormack, S. Jennings, L. Kenni, (September 2020), Oxfam Research Reports September 2020. "Gender and LGBTQI+ Policy and Programming in Vanuatu Opportunities, challenges, capacity, and tools for change"
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