Napat was elected unopposed in Port Vila today, receiving 50 votes with two void votes.

He is the country’s fifth prime minister in four years and will lead a coalition government made up of five political parties — Leaders Party, Vanua’aku Party, Graon Mo Jastis Party, Reunification Movement for Change, and the Iauko Group.

Napat is president of the Leaders Party, which secured the most seats in the House after the snap election last month.

The former prime minister Charlot Salwai nominated Napat for the top job.

The nomination was seconded by Ralph Regenvanu, president of the Graon Mo Jastis Pati, before the MP for Tanna and president of the Leaders Party accepted the nomination.

The MP for Port Vila and leader of the Union of Moderate Parties, Ishmael Kalsakau, congratulated Napat on his nomination and said there would be no other nomination for prime minister.

Who is Jotham Napat?
Napat, 52, is an MP for Tanna Constituency and is the president of the Leaders Party which emerged from the January 16 snap election with nine seats making it the largest party in Parliament.

He was born on Tanna in August 1972.

He heads a five party coalition government with more micro parties likely to affiliate to his administration in the coming days and weeks.

More than 30 MPs were seated on the government side of the House for today’s Parliament sitting.

Napat was first elected to the house in 2016.

He was re-elected in 2020 and again in the snap elections of 2022 and 2025.

Before entering Parliament he chaired the National Disaster Committee in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Pam.

New government facing many challenges
The incoming government will have a long list of urgent priorities to attend to, including the 2025 Budget and the ongoing rebuild of the central business district in the capital Port Vila after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in December.

That quake claimed 14 lives, injured more than 200 people, and displaced thousands.

One voter who spoke to RNZ Pacific during last month’s election said they wanted leaders with good ideas for Vanuatu’s future.

“And not just the vision to run the government and the nation but also who has leadership qualities and is transparent.

“People who can work with communities and who don’t just think about themselves.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader.

Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he had resigned along with his deputies.

RNZ Pacific has contacted him for comment.

On Tuesday, while speaking to RNZ Pacific about the referendum on May 29, he opened up about regrets during his time as prime minister.

Kalsakau was elected prime minister in November 2022 after a motion of no confidence was filed against the then Prime Minister Bob Loughman.

There have been a trail of no confidence motions filed since then and two more prime ministers.

“I was so focused on how to change the country, improving Vanuatu’s image. I just didn’t look over my shoulder to see what was happening behind my back.”

‘Learnt his lessons’
He said he has “learnt his lessons” and gone as far as to say “it’s not gonna happen again.

“I will not close my eyes,” he said.

Kalsakau, confirming he was the rightful opposition leader after their were some concerns raised about his appointment recently, said Vanuatu’s upcoming referendum aims to overcome the nation’s persistent political instability.

The government is putting in front of the people two proposed constitutional amendments:

• 17A: Vacation of Seat by Party Member.

Under this amendment if a MP leaves, or is forced to resign from their political party, then their seat will be declared vacant.

• 17B: Vacation of Seat by Independent Member.

This amendment would require those MPs elected as independents to choose a political party within three months of being elected, or their seat will be declared vacant.

While it is a different position to what the former prime minister had when he was in government, he said there was a likelihood he or others, who are not satisfied with the government’s action — or inaction over the planned referendum — could go to the Supreme Court.

“They can take this matter to the Supreme Court, to get it judged there as to whether what the government is proposing at the moment is constitutional,” he said.

He said there was a precedent for such a case.

“In 1988, there has been an Appeal Court judgement, which stipulated, in bold terms, that those fundamental rights are so fundamental to the citizen, that not even a state nor any person, not even a nation, can restrict [them],” he said.

Delaying the referendum
When asked if Vanuatu is ready for the referendum, he replied: “Is any country ever ready for a referendum when it traverses the population only two months prior to the date of the vote?”

He is now asking the government to delay the referendum to give time for public consultation on the matter.

“I am hoping that that wisdom prevails at the end of the day,” Kalsakau said.

“If it doesn’t, either way, it can be an option now or it can be an option, after the amendments processed through the referendum.”

Kalsakau insists he is voting “Yes” in the upcoming referendum and his call for postponement is in the public interest.

The government has told local media a delay is not possible as the process is already underway.

However, the former opposition leader disputes that.

“It’s become a political issue now,” he said on Tuesday.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Four-time Vanuatu Prime Minister Sato Kilman has been elected to the top job for a record fifth time in Port Vila, ousting Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau’s nine-month reign as the leader of government.

Kilman received a total of 27 votes, while Kalsakau got 23 votes.

Kilman, 65, was the deputy Prime Minister in Kalsakau’s government before being removed in May. At the time Kalsakau had stated that Kilman’s dismissal was for “stability of the coalition government”.

“Mr Speaker first and foremost I want to say a big thank you to the members of Parliament and the political parties that supported the change in government. Thank you,” he said.

“But thank you even more for standing your ground and for ensuring that democracy prevails in Vanuatu.”

Earlier on Monday, Vanuatu’s highest court — the Court of Appeal — dismissed an appeal against the removal of Kalsakau.

Last month, the opposition grouping, led by former prime minister Bob Loughman, brought a motion of no-confidence against Kalsakau.

Appeal to courts
They garnered 26 of the 49 votes cast but the parliamentary Speaker ruled they had not reached what he considered the minimum 27 required for a successful motion in the 52-member House.

Loughman’s group appealed to the courts, which last week ruled in their favour, but the Speaker appealed that decision.

That appeal was dismissed today bringing an end to Kalsakau’s tenure and triggering the election of the new Prime Minister.

Sato Kilman was sworn in as Prime Minister immediately after the vote on Monday evening.

He is expected to announce the composition of the cabinet of his new coalition government later this week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Nikenike Vurobaravu has been voted the 12th President of the Republic of Vanuatu.

It took eight rounds of voting by the 58-member Electoral College before he secured the required minimum number of 38 this afternoon.

In the end he got a resounding 47 votes, after the Prime Minister, Bob Loughman, reached a deal with the nine MPs of the coalition party led by former prime minister, Charlot Salwai.

Those nine MPs have been part of the government for the past year but had fallen out with Loughman over his plans for constitutional reform.

The new president has had involvement with Vanuatu governments going back many years.

Most recently he has been the High Commissioner to Fiji.

Vurobaravu has promised to encourage unity around the country and to promote the issue of climate change.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Congr’ns to newly elected ??President, H.E. Nikenike Vurobaravu. Among the 56 votes, Nikenike won 48 votes, more than 2/3. It was the 8th attempt by the college on the 3rd day to elect a new HoS. He succeeds Moses Obed Tallis, whose term of presidency ended on 6/07/2022. pic.twitter.com/ou8MKk6j0S

— Jason Daniel (@Jaxniel) July 23, 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Jane Joshua in Port Vila

Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade is proud to have two women appointed to the top positions of First Political Adviser and Second Political Adviser – Anthea Arukole and Jeanette Yiu-Hing Faerua respectively.

These two are the only women to occupy these leading political adviser positions in the current government.

It is also believed to be the first time in Vanuatu’s history that women have occupied both first and second PA positions in a single government ministry.

There have been many efforts and initiatives to advance women in political participation and decision making in Vanuatu and when the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ralph Regenvanu, took office in December last year and appointed women into the two key positions in the cabinet, it gave comfort to the gender advocates that there are male champions who are committed to advancing women.

This is very positive news for Vanuatu on International Women’s Day.

Both women have been key figures in the Graon mo Jastis Pati (GJP) since it was established

Arukole is an active member of the national executive of GJP and is not new to the First Political Adviser position.

Foreign Affairs move
She was previously the First PA at the Ministry of Internal Affairs prior to moving to Foreign Affairs.

Before taking up the First PA role in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in February 2017, GJP Minister Alfred Maoh had another woman as his First PA, Emily Tumukon.

“Having been part of the national executive of a political party for has helped to grounded me for my role as a political advisor and i am no stranger to leadership and management roles,” Arukole said.

“While being first political adviser is challenging, I have a lot of support within the party as well as from senior officials of government whom I encounter.

“It helps also that the current Acting Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also a woman, Roline Tekon.”

Minister Ralph Regenvanu said he was very satisfied with the performance of his two key political advisers to date.

Vanuatu Daily Post media director Dan McGarry was full of praise for his editor, Jane Joshua, author of this news story, on International Women’s Day. In the last four years alone, he said on Twitter, Joshua had written nearly 270 front page stories for the Vanuatu Daily Post.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz