Transcript
JT: The caretaker prime minister is part of a group of five government MPs who face the charges, including bribery and perjury. This includes agriculture minister Matai Seremaiah, the former speaker of parliament Simeon Seule, and MPs Jerome Ludvaune and Tomker Netvunei.
The charges follow a complaint by the opposition leader, Ishmael Kalsakau, into the government's introduction of parliamentary secretaries - paid government positions that the Supreme Court last year ruled 'void and of no effect'.
Mr Salwai has said he's innocent and confident he'll be cleared of any charges, noting the secretary positions were pulled as soon as the courts ruled that they were illegal.
BRD: How did the MPs court appearance go last week?
JT: The MPs appeared for an initial appearance that was largely procedural.
Now, they haven't formally been charged yet. It was a hearing to see whether or not there was enough to press charges. So this means they're still free to contest the election - until their next appearance on the 17th of March, at least, which is two days before the election.
But a major spanner was thrown in when the bail conditions were imposed. The MPs weren't allowed to leave the main island, Efate, which would have meant none of them would have been able to return to their home constituencies to campaign.
This was immediately challenged in the Supreme Court, who lifted the travel restriction.
BRD: How does this affect the campaign?
JT: Salwai has his supporters, and he's confident he'll be part of any governing coalition that's formed after the election.
And he has proved to have the power of endurance, at least in terms of Vanuatu politics. He's the first prime minister to last a full four-year term in more than a decade, after he took the role following the snap election in 2016.
But with about 300 candidates believed to have put their names forward, it's still a wide open field, and there's bound to be some shifts when the horse trading takes place in late March. But depending on how the courts rule, there could be five big names missing.
The candidates list was meant to be officially released by the electoral commission on Monday, but that was delayed until Tuesday, and journalists were left to wait right through the day.
Who makes that list will be interesting - many of the MPs who were jailed and later pardoned following the constitutional maelstrom of 2016 have hinted at plans to run again.
