Calls for greater scrutiny of Vanuatu elections

(Radio Australia- ABC) The Vanuatu chapter of the civil society group Transparency International says it is "begging" the island's journalists to provide adequate scrutiny of political candidates during elections scheduled for later this year.Radio Australia's Pacific correspondent Campbell Cooney that Vanuatu's newspapers have published a wishlist" from TI. Transparency International Vanuatu says too often the "wrong people" are voted into political office, and says much of the country's media is not prepared to focus attention on politicians' failings, poor policies and corruption. TIV president Marie Noelle Patterson says it is up to the media to scrutinise candidates, insisting that publicly appointed watchdogs seem unwilling to act. "At the moment it is almost a desperate cry for information to come out," she said.Lat month it was revealed Vanuatu Prime Minister Ham Lini accepted an offer of more than $US10 billion purportedly to help reduce carbon emissions, without informing anyone else in government. An investigation has since found found the scheme was a fraud. Vanuatu is due to hold elections in September.