News
This page collects stories on developments throughout the Pacific in promoting women in politics. Because many news sites in the Pacific archive their stories after a period of time, we have replicated the stories in full on this page, to keep an archive on efforts and article in the region. We thank all Pacific news colleagues for their contributions in sharing stories on women in politics. If you have a story we have missed, please send it to the PacWIP team on pacwip@gmail.com.
Hon Marie Louise Milne: One woman MP elected in Vanuatu poll
30th January, 2025
Vanuatu will have one female member of parliament after official results from a snap election earlier this month were released ahead of parliament resuming for the formation of government. Almost a third of the legislature’s 52 MPs were replaced and no party gained a majority, with negotiations now underway to create a coalition government. Parliament...
Women candidates make historic strides in Palau’s upcoming election
14th October, 2024
KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Several female candidates have stepped into Palau’s political arena, signaling a shift toward greater gender representation. Of the 34 candidates running for the House of Delegates, six are women, while another six women are among the 26 candidates running for the 15 Senate seats. Discussions surrounding reapportionment are also in...
Women’s political representation in Solomon Islands
01st July, 2024
[Kerryn Baker, 1 July 2024]: After a 12-month delay, the 12th Solomon Islands national general elections were held on 17 April 2024. For the first time, joint elections were held, with most provincial assemblies and the Honiara City Council also going to the polls. For women, the results were mixed. Eight women were elected overall —...
Increasing women’s political representation in Solomon Islands
18th May, 2024
[24 May 2024, Emma Clampett & Pionio Boso] On 29 December 2023, the Solomon Islands National Cabinet approved the introduction of temporary special measures (TSMs) to improve women’s political representation in the Provincial Government Assemblies (PGAs). Slated as an amendment to the Provincial Government Amendment Bill, the measures are expected to be voted on in...
State of play for Pacific women in 2024
08th March, 2024
[8 March 2024, Jess Collins] As 2024 rang in, an historical vote was taking place in the Pacific. Hilda Heine, former president of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) and first ever female head of state in the Pacific, was going head-to-head with David Kabua (the incumbent president) to see who would reign as RMI’s...
MWYCFA committed to table proposed TSMs for women in Provincial Assemblies in 12th Parliament
10th February, 2024
[10 February 2024} The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) is committed to table the proposed amendment to the Provincial Government Amendment Bill (PGAB) 2018 that will establish temporary special measures (TSM) to guarantee additional seats for women in Provincial Assemblies in the first Parliament Seating of the 12th Parliament. The Democratic...
Tuvalu’s 2024 general election: a new political landscape
30th January, 2024
[30 January 2024, Jess Marinaccio] On Friday 26 January 2024, Tuvalu went to the polls for its general election. After voting results were announced over the subsequent 24 hours, Tuvalu emerged with a somewhat altered political landscape. In Tuvalu elections, candidates run for two parliamentary positions on each of Tuvalu’s eight islands of Nukulaelae, Funafuti, Vaitupu,...
Francesca Semoso Elected to PNG National Parliament
31st October, 2023
The Autonomous Bougainville Region has voted in their first woman representative into the National Parliament. Pangu candidate, Francesca Semoso, has been declared member elect for the North Bougainville Open seat after passing the absolute majority. Semoso collected 14,851 votes after the 15th exclusion round passing the absolute majority of 14,164 votes. Bougainville President Ismael Toroama...
Francesca Semoso: Bougainville’s first woman MP in PNG’s parliament
31st October, 2023
[30 October 2023] Francesca Semoso will be the third woman member of parliament in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) national parliament after she won the North Bougainville open seat in a by-election last week. The MP-elect also becomes the first woman from Bougainville to win a seat in PNG’s national parliament. The by-election followed the...
Impressive calibre of women MPs sworn in at opening of Niue’s 18th Assembly
10th May, 2023
[Esther Pavihivo] Three new female MPs Rhonda Tiakia Tomailuga, Sonya Talagi and Sinahemana Hekau. The calibre of female parliamentarians is impressive most of them were raised or came from families with a history of politicians and are now themselves a part of Niue political history as the highest ever number of female MPs accounting for...
APIL congratulates Dr. Merlynn Abello Alfonso as new FSM Senator-Elect
20th April, 2023
APIL Resolution No. 62-BOD-04: Expressing the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures’ genuine congratulations to Merlynn Abello Alfonso M.D. on becoming the first Pohnpeian woman elected to the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia. WHEREAS, on March 7, 2023, the FSM National Government held its 1 Congressional Election; and 2 WHEREAS, the State of Pohnpei...
Palau’s first woman governor, Theodosia Faustino Blailes, passes away
06th January, 2023
[Leilani Reklai] The first governor of Angaur State, and the first woman to become a governor in Palau, Theodosia Faustino Blailes, was a trailblazer, an educator, an author, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a role model, a Palauan woman and a proud Angaurian to her children, her people and the people whose lives she...