Proposed constitutional amendment in Vanuatu would allow only indigenous citizens to contest elections

Only indigenous Ni-Vanuatu will be able to contest provincial and national elections in a key reform at the top of the government's 100-day plan. This reform plan bought cries of "racism" from the opposition ranks of parliament. The 100-day plan's expected outcome for this electoral reform is to strengthen citizenship program governance, enhance public trust in citizenship processes plus the preservation of national identity, and strengthening cultural representation in governance. The focus will be on naturalised citizens, specifying that "only third generation citizens will be included to contest elections". Opposition leader Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau said that this priority can be described as legitimising racism by the current government. He said that creators of Vanuatu's constitution intended in a pre-condition to independence that citizenry was to be accorded without discrimination. Article 17 of the constitution states that every citizen of Vanuatu, who is at least 25 years of age, shall be eligible to stand for election to parliament.
Read the full article here: RNZ