Vanuatu holds snap election a month after powerful earthquake

A woman casts her ballot during Vanuatu’s snap election at Mele, north of Port Vila, Vanuatu (Ben McKay/AAP Image via AP)

Vanuatu held a snap general election on Thursday after Prime Minister Charlot Salwai’s decision to go to the polls two years early rather than risk a no-confidence vote in his divided coalition government.

The election is being held amid the destruction of last month’s powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of the South Pacific island nation on December 17, killing 14 and injuring many more.