Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs President Willie Grey Plasua was on Erromango Island last Friday to witness the election of the Simanlo Island Council of Chiefs and its representatives to the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs for the next five years.
The Vanuatu high Chief was accompanied by his Chief Executive Officer, Jean Pierre Tom, who presided over the election. This is the final trip for the president of Malvatumauri because his term in the office will come to end next month.
In his remark before the election, Malvatumauri President Chief Willie Grey Plasua announced that his five-year term would end next month and therefore elections for the new council would be held on all Vanuatu islands this month.
He assured all chiefs present that the two chiefs representing the voice of the Erromango people in the National Council of Chiefs will work with his successor from 2023 to 2028.
The President also highlighted the decision of the Simanlo Island Council of Chiefs to host the second Vanuatu National Conference of Custom Chiefs VNKKJ next year.
This is an important and supreme national conference that will be attended by nearly 200 chiefs from across the country. The VNKKJ chairman is Chief Titus Novwal Netvokom of Erromango, who was elected unopposed in Port Vila two years ago.
He encouraged the Simanlo Island Council of Chiefs to begin preparations, saying the conference is the foundation of custom governance in Vanuatu.
We want to create a proper and legal framework for traditional governance in the Republic of Vanuatu, and by 2030 it will be equal to the formal system of government, said Chief Willie Plasua.
The election took place in the village of Ipota in the presence of the majority of the 12 chiefs representing the six councils of chiefs on the island.
Chief Willie Naling Narwa was elected unopposed as the new chairman of the Simanlo Council of Chiefs, and Chief John Ativi Norwo and Chief John Naling will represent Simanlo on the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs.
The election was peaceful and there was consensus throughout the process, so everyone was very pleased with the outcome.