Welcome to the Parliament of Vanuatu
Wells Out, Boedoro in
Posted on Monday 8 April, 2013
By Godwin Ligo
The New Speaker of Parliament is Maewo MP, Hon. Philip Boedoro, who was voted in last Saturday morning by a majority of 33 MPs.
These 33 includes Prime Minister Hon. Moana Carcasses Kalosil, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Edward Natapei, government Ministers and government back benchers. One government back bencher MP Robert Bohn is on an overseas trip.
The former Speaker of Parliament, Hon. George Andre Wells and First Depurty Speaker of Parliament (Hon. Havo Moli) resigned on Saturday morning before Parliament met and outsted both.
Hon. George Andre Wells was not present during the Saturday morning extra-ordinary session of Parliament that ousted him and elected the Maewo Vanua'aku Party MP Philip Boedoro, as the new Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu.
After the election of Speaker Boedoro, Parliament went ahead and elected a new First deputy Speaker who is Paama MP Jonas James and Third Deputy Speaker, Tongoa MP John Amos. The Third Deputy Speaker is a new position. Parliamentary Secretariate sources said the decision by the government side to create the position of Third Deputy Speaker is within the standing orders of Parliamernt that allows for Parliament to elect one or more deputy speakers..
Santo Rural MP Arnold Prasad retains the position of Second Deputy Speaker as he remains with the government side in Parliament.
Immediately after his election as the new Speaker of Parliament, the VP Maewo MP Philip Boedoro and his First Deputy and Paama MP Jonas James and Third Deputy Speaker John Amos were congradulated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, the government ministers and back benchers.
Source: Vanuatu Daily Post
Nation's interest first: Carcasses
Posted on March 26, 2013 - 9:06am
By Godwin Ligo
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Moana Carcasses, new Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
Vanuatu now has a new Prime Minister. He is the Port Vila MP and the President of the Green Confederation political Party, Moana Carcasses.
The newly elected state ministers appointed by the Prime Minister and their respective portfolios are:
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and External is Edward Nipake Natapei, Port Vila MP and the President of the Vanuaaku Party; Finance Minister is Willie Jimmy Tapangararua, MP for Port Vila Town and President of the Liberal Democratic Party; Education Minister is Bob Loughman, Tanna VP MP; Lands, Geology, Mines, Energy and Water resources minister is Ralph Regenvanu Port Vila MP and Graon mo Jastis Pati President; Minister for Infrastructure and Public Utilities is Esmon Sae, Malekula MP, Minister for Internal Affairs is Patrick Crowby, UMP Port Vila MP; Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity is David Tosul, Pentecost MP; Minister for Tourism and Commerce is Marcellino Pipite, Santo Rural VRP MP; Minister for Health is Serge Vohor, the Santo Rural and UMP Party President; Minister for Justice and Social Welfare is Maki Simelum, who is Ambrym VP MP, Minister for Youth Development amd Sports is Tony Wright, who is a Port Vila UMP MP and Minister for Planning and Climate Change Adaptation is Thomas Laken, Tanna MP.
The Ministry of Ni-Vanuatu Business Development and Ministry of Trade have been merged into a new Ministry of Tourism and Commerce.
The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports has been re-instated as the Ministry Civil Aviation created by the former Sato led government was removed. And a new Ministry of Planning and Climate Change was created.
Daily Post understands that the position of Speaker could be given to the Maewo VP MP Philip Boedoro.
“I know there are one or two MPs who are not happy with the portfolio sharing, but I want assure them that there are parliamentary committees positions including the position of Parliamentary Secretary I held that are yet to be filled,” Prime Minister Carcasses assured the senior ranking MPs that were not given ministerial portfolios.
His nomination to be the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu was moved by the Vanua’aku Party President, Edward Natapei and was seconded by the Santo Rural MP and the President of UMP, Serge Vohor.
When Speaker George Wells asked for further nomination from the floor, a former Kilman government side MP was stopped when raised a point regarding the nomination of MP Moana Carcasses relating to his status as a naturalised citizen.
The speaker George Wells said this was not relevant in accordance of the Standing Orders for the election of a new country’s Prime Minister.
The then and former Prime Minister Sato Kilman and former government ministers and MPs left the parliamentary chambers after a remark by one of his MP that there was no need for them to remain for the election of the new Prime Minister because they did not have the number.
However, two former Kilman ministers and two MPs remained and moved to the Opposition side and joined force to elect the new Prime Minister Moana Carcasses. They were former Internal Affairs Minister Toara Daniel, former Civil Aviation Minister Samson Samsen, Santo rural MP Arnold Prasad and Paama Natatok MP Jonas James.
Their move strengthened the Opposition numbers to 33 that remained in the parliamentary chambers for the election of the new prime minister.As there were no further nominations, the Speaker proceeded with the election of the Prime Minister through secret ballot in accordance with the relevant section of the standing orders of the Parliament.
The result of the votes cast gave MP Moana Carcasses a total of 34 votes with no invalid votes which meant that the Speaker George Wells also voted for Moana Carcasses as the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
Immediately after his election as the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Moana Carcasses took his oath of allegiance in parliament supervised by the Acting Attorney General, Freddy Gilu and then made a short remark inside the parliamentary chambers before moving outside to the parliamentary arena where he then appointed his new cabinet Ministers.
In his short remark inside the parliamentary chamber the New Prime Minister Carcasses said: “The interest of the nation comes first. And I thank the MPs and political party leaders especially the VP and the UMP leaders for the confidence and the trust that each of you have in me. I will deliver my first speech to the nation after the appointment of the new cabinet ministers,” the new Prime Minister told the 33 MPs including the Speaker who voted him in as the new Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu.
As he stepped out of the Parliament Chambers, Carcasses was greeted with leis and hundreds of supports from all political parties and well-wishers including the Lord Mayor of Port Vila town Reuben Olul, members of the diplomatic corps and church and civic leaders, the Acting Commissioner of Police and senior police and VMF Officers before he took position and appointed new members of his cabinet.
The Carcasses-led government has now taken over the executive running of the country as of last Saturday and today he assumes the chair in the Vanuatu’s Prime Minister’s Office as his cabinet ministers resume official duties as well on the first week of their term of the national government and the governing of the nation.
Hon. Sato Kilman back in charge as Vanuatu PM
19 November 2012
By Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney and Staff
The Vanuatu Parliament has elected Sato Kilman as the country's Prime Minister. |
Vanuatu's Parliament has elected Sato Kilman as prime minister, three weeks after the country held its general election.
Mr Kilman's Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) won only six of the 52 parliamentary seats but has managed to stitch together a loose, multiparty coalition.
No fewer than 16 political parties are represented in the house, and there was uncertainty right up until Parliament met on Monday as to which team might emerge with the winning number.
The vote indicates at least one of those parties, the Union of Moderates, has already split.
The largest party, the Vanua'aku Party, led by Edward Natapei, won eight seats and as late as yesterday it appeared he may have been putting together a winning coalition.
But Mr Natapei said by Monday he knew the numbers weren't on his side.
"Some of the members who were with us yesterday - who actually assured us they were going to be on our side - moved across to the other side today," he said.
"We felt it was important to ensure we keep our numbers so I had to contest just to maintain our numbers," he said.
The first vote when Parliament met was to choose the Speaker. One of Sato Kilman's own PPP MPs, the caretaker Internal Affairs Minister, George Wells, won 29 votes to 23.
That margin - 29 to 23 - was repeated when the vote for Prime Minister was held, allowing Mr Kilman to remain the country's Prime Minister.
A large number of petitioners have challenged the results of the elections, claiming irregularities. If the courts agree, there could be a number of by-elections next year.