TESS NEWTON CAIN  | 

Despite the fact there are no confirmed cases COVID-19 in Vanuatu so far, the fear is expected to present an additional hurdle when it comes to voter turnout.

In the coffee shops and kava bars of Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, there are two subjects that dominate conversation: Covid-19 and this week’s general elections, which will be held on Thursday.

Vanuatu, a south Pacific nation just a three-hour flight from Australia, has a population of just under 300,000. It is often thought of as a politically unstable nation, with shifting political allegiances, seemingly based more on expediency than ideology.

Please click here to read the full “Coronavirus fears and controversial passport sales: Vanuatu’s election explained” article published at The Guardian, written by Griffith Asia Institute’s Adjunct Associate Professor Tess Newton Cain.