Santo Still ‘National’

The New Hebrides National Party regained three of its four invalidated seats in the October 25 elections on Santo.

In the Santo urban constituency, NP candidate Mary Gilu regained her seat with an increased majority. The second NP seat was lost to George Cronsteadt of Manh Nagriamel.

In the Santo rural constituency the two NP candidates Thomas Reuben and Dr Titus Path were both returned. Head of the Nagriamel movement, Jimmy Stevens, was also elected. Reuben topped the poll with 1126 votes, Stevens was second with 977, and Path third with 887. Nagriamel’s James Tangis trailed with 869 votes.

In a November 5 press release, the NP accused the Anglo-French Condominium administration of “inefficiency and manipulation" in its treatment of the Representative Assembly and the NP.

The release said: “With the 29 ‘people’s’ seats now fully occupied again, the Assembly is only one chiefly seat away from being fully elected exactly 12 long months behind schedule. It is, however, almost certain that there will be electoral disputes, and so administration promises that the Assembly should meet on November 22 are being treated with a good deal of cynicism’’.

“I'll believe it when I see it", said Barak Sope, Secretary-General of the NP. “The French will do anything to stop our power in the Assembly, and independence for the New Hebrides.”

There does not appear to have been any violence during the elections, as was feared following incidents occurring before the October 25-27 poll. Several people were attacked at that time, and police reinforcements were sent to Santo.