Page 176 - Conducting Elections during COVID-19

158 INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS DURING COVID-19

Vanuatu

How Vanuatu ran a successful election during
a pandemic: Lessons learnt from the Vanuatu

Electoral Environment Project (VEEP)

A few days prior to its general election day in Vanuatu in March, the volcano on Tanna island showed
increased activity and an earthquake hit the country. This was followed by Cyclone Gretel. Not
surprisingly, these catastrophes impacted distribution of electoral materials. During reconciliation of
votes and the announcement of results, Cyclone Harold passed by causing widespread devastation.
Moreover, the remote location of Vanuatu proved to be a challenge with respect to procurement/
imports. In 2019, when Vanuatu scheduled their general election for 19 March 2020, they had considered
all of the above, but they never imagined – that a global pandemic would hit them all as well.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Coronavirus (COVID-19) as a Public Health
Emergency of international concern, the government of Vanuatu established a COVID-19 National Task
Force to advise government authorities and coordinate their response. Eight days before the polling
day, WHO recognised the outbreak as a pandemic. Vanuatu was faced with the difficult choice of
holding or postponing elections. While the safety of citizens was critical, so was their right to vote in a
free and fair election.

Well over forty countries worldwide postponed their elections in the wake of COVID-19. Only a handful
of countries proceeded with their elections in the month of March. Vanuatu, an archipelagic nation
in the South Pacific with a population of around 300,000, was one of them. To date, Vanuatu has
not had any confirmed cases of COVID-19 and being an archipelago, it is relatively easy to mitigate
the risks by preventing international visitors coming from countries with high spread of the disease.
The Government of Vanuatu was quicker than most and was more stringent than even neighbouring
Australia and New Zealand by requiring medical certificates for those who have transited through
transport hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong since as early as 31 December 2019, even if they had
spent at least 14 days elsewhere prior to arriving in Vanuatu. This policy was announced on 28 February
2020. Hence it was one of the tightest measures at the time. Confident with the quick actions they had
taken, Vanuatu proceeded to conduct its general elections on 19 March 2020.

As part of Vanuatu Electoral Environment Project (VEEP), UNDP was embedded in the Electoral Office
and was actively providing technical assistance and capacity building to the Electoral Management
Body (EMB). While the risks were high, with considered measures and little imagination, UNDP helped
Vanuatu to hold elections successfully. Here are five lessons that were learnt –

On Election Day (19 March 2020) voters were made to wash their hands before casting ballots in a polling station on
Malekula Island as a precaution against COVID-19. Health workers are seen working with election officials in explaining
how the hand washing should be done.