Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Polling has begun in Vanuatu’s general election

Posted at 22:32 on 29 October, 2012 UTC

Polling has begun in Vanuatu’s general election this morning.

Ni-Vanuatu are voting at 344 stations across the country.

John Blades reports from Port Vila.

“Early reports say polling has begun smoothly around the six provinces, certainly this seems to be the case here at the Beverly Hills polling station on the outskirts of Port Vila . In the days leaving up to the poll the Electoral Commission has insisted it is well prepared to facilitate voting by record number of voters with the official figure of eligible voters at over 192,000. In Port Vila alone up to 34,998 registered voters will flock to just 12 polling stations. It’s the biggest concentration of voters in the country, and it’s presented the electoral commission a considerable challenge in having to shepherd voters to the correct polling booth.”