A ‘rout’ for nationalists in

New Hebrides elections

From DAVID A. JOFFICK in Vila, UCNH’s Assistant Secretary

The New Hebrides, in the towns of Vila and Santo, had their first taste of municipal elections on August 16.

The roll-call was exceptional. In a holiday atmosphere of ordered calm and suppressed excitement more than 80 per cent of the registered voters of both towns went to the polls, and despite the complexity of the cross voting system, elected their munici pal councillors with less than 10 per cent of the votes cast being informal.

The results speak for themselves and represent nothing short of a rout for the National Party (NP) and their platform. UCNH in Vila won with a three to one margin—winning 18 out of the 24 seats contested— and the MANH-Tabwemasana-Na griamel (MTN) coalition secured 15 out of the 16 seats in Santo. No in dependent candidate was elected des pite the National Party’s great efforts to split the vote.

The most astonishing aspect of these elections was the Melanesian support for UCNH in Vila and the MTN movements in Santo as reflected in the results and from photographs 3f a procession through Vila 48 hours before polling began.

It may be useful to students of ocal history to learn that UCNH (Union des Communautes Neo- Tebridaises) stands for The Union }f the Communities of the New Heb ides and that its steering committee :onsists of six members, three of vhich —Melanesians—had partici pated in the founding of the National 3 arty and had split away to cement he corner-stone of another move nent as a result of the overwhelming md irrational radicalism of the first.

Df the three, one is the vice-president md the second general-secretary of

Jcnh.

Regrettably, two of the protestant lurches out of the 12 represented n the New Hebrides have adopted i political stance and through the Ecumenical Council, and otherwise, ontinue to finance the National s arty. It is to be hoped that wise : °unsel will prevail and that these hurches will refrain from actively >articipating in political activity and >ropaganda from the pulpit.

There has been much said about he successful coalition in Vila and n Santo being French Government

sponsored, led and directed. Nothing can be further from the truth. Cer tainly, it has sought pre-election information from the French Resi dency, but this is no less than that gratuitously offered by certain British public servants to the National Party —including the printing of National Party campaign literature and posters.

Whereas the National Party elec tion campaign funds originated pre dominantly from overseas, as men tioned earlier and as confirmed during a public meeting by one of its members, a substantial portion of the funds for the UCNH and the MTN campaigns were donated by local “sympathetic friends” and it should not be a surprise that much of this came from the French com munity. Apart from two British banks, there are no UK interests in the New Hebrides at all—the trust companies, as well as the Australian banks and Burns Philp, having main tained a strict neutrality in this first political contest.

A major source of UCNH funds for the Vila election campaign has been from the sale of party member ship cards to the Melanesian and the European population throughout all the islands of the group and this on its own could attest as to its popu larity.

The old Advisory Council had a Melanesian majority and both metro politan governments took exceptional note of the recommendations of this body in matters concerning the forth coming elections. It was the Mela nesian councillors, including members of the National Party, who voted unanimously that the age limit should be set at 21 years despite European opposition. The motion was carried on the Melanesian vote.

During the visit of Mr Olivier Stirn of France and Miss Joan Lestor, of Britain, in November, 1974, a Melanesian member of the Advisory Council suggested that four representatives from the customary chiefs be elected to the Represent ative Assembly. The ministers had agreed and the numbers were ad justed at the expense of represent ation from the Chamber of Com merce. Further, the nine represent atives from urban constituencies (six from Vila and three from Santo), the six from the Chamber of Com-

New Hebrides Elections

merce and the three from the co operative movements are to be equally split into four from the Melanesian population, four British and four French: the nature and bent of these cannot be predicted at this time.

The numerical Melanesian strength of 34 in the assembly of 42 is not, therefore, in stark contrast to the population as one would imagine. It is representative of the expressed wishes of the old Advisory Council and the present economic forces at play. In fact it could be held that the reverse is very much the case as substantial development investment by private capital will be required in the medium term which risks being unrepresented in the assembly.

It could hardly be expected that a Speaker elected from the ranks at the very first meeting of the Repre sentative Assembly would have the required experience to maintain control over the assembly’s deliber ations. Legal and other precedence will have to be established in the functioning of this assembly before any real meaning can be attached to the function and role of the Speaker elected from within—in time perhaps, and at the sitting of the Second Representative Assembly such an election, and such a post, may have some real sense.

The future Representative Assem bly will have the power to insist on legislation being enacted at the second "eading of a Bill if it can garner a :wo-thirds majority, ie 28 out of 42.

Should the matter concern Melanesian velfare and interests, social and ;conomic, this number, as seen from tbove, can be readily reached.

Should it not, in view of the con uliatory attitude of both govern uents, reasoned amendments, argu uent and debate will inevitably ichieve the same results—for is this lot the purpose of the Representa ive Assembly?

The political climate at the moment s one of solid work. Having been outed in the urban areas, the National Party will no doubt take ts argument for “Independence 1977” to the outer islands. But there, dready, it has totally undermined he very purpose of its existence.

The National Party has, continu msly, over the last two years en leavoured to break the power of he hereditary and elected chiefs. It las endeavoured to substitute, over light, age-old custom and social iractices with semi-educated and emi-literate teachers and church elders”. The discontent sown among

the villages by this divisive influence has resulted in the John Frum and Kapiel custom forces supporting UCNH in the south, and Nagriamel supporting MANH-Tabwemasana in the north. This alliance is therefore not paradoxical, and in fact very certain. For a party which claims it is the “Voice of the People” it has certainly shown itself totally devoid of any feeling for their professed kind.

Another point worth bringing to the attention of the student of New Hebrides politics is that Nagriamel was originally sponsored by the British Residency, and Jimmy Stephens, the leader of the Nagria mel custom movement, could hardly be described as being “intensely jealous” of the man leading the National Party—for the Nagriamel people, and this practically now in cludes all the islands of the north, have profited enormously, as PIM justly points out, by Jimmy Stephens’ wisdom and his alliances—and with American interests to boot!

It is a shame that the country is divided by education. More is the shame that the British output in literacy is below the normally accepted levels for entry into ordin ary secondary schools in Australia, New Zealand or the United King dom. However, the French Govern ment is indeed making a great effort to restore the balance with the net result that in a few years time one might well expect the French lan guage to predominate.

One thing, however, remains cer tain after these municipal elections.

The British-oriented radical move ment for independence in 1977 has taken a severe pounding by dint of the heavy Melanesian vote. The future, it would appear at the mo ment, lies mainly in the hands of the UCNH-MANH-Tabwemasana- Nagriamel coalition and its ability to coerce the two metropolitan govern ments into a process of gradual de volving of power through education, economic planning and assistance, and the creation of democratic insti tutions and implementation of demo cratic processes and traditions—a difficult, onerous and expensive task.