Jimmy Steven

Vanuatu

New President elected at last

Jean-Marie Leye has been elected Vanuatu’s third president.

Leye is a former vice-president of the ruling Union of Moderate Parties and a former member of parliament.

His selection by the electoral college comes after two previous attempts to select a new head of state failed. The first time, the opposition boycotted the election and then no candidate won a sufficient number of votes to become president.

Jimmy Steven

dies

The leader of Vanuatu’s Nagriamel movement, Jimmy Stevens, has died in his home village on Santo island following a long illness. Stevens was in his 70s as is believed to have had over 15 wives and numerous children.

He rose to prominence for masterminding the so-called Santo rebellion in 1980 which was quelled following the arrival of Papua New Guinea troops. The troops were called in by Father Walter Lini who had just formed Vanuatu’s first government at the territory’s independence from France and Britain.

Three months earlier, Stevens had proclaimed a provisional secessionist government of Vemarana, becoming its self appointed chief minister. Released in 1991, he claimed to have been one of the world’s longest-serving political prisoners.

Kalpokas rejects

Kerman’s offer

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Maxime Carlot Korman, has rejected the opposition Vanuaaku Pati’s demand for three ministerial portfolio’s in his government. Korman said he will stick to his offer of a new ministry of labour and training and two parliamentary positions of leader of government business

and first deputy speaker.

VP president Donald Kalpokas said his party had a general agreement with the government for three ministerial posts in the government in return for its backing in the election of the country’s new president. The three ministries included lands and finance, but Korman said in any democracy, the ruling party always retains the finance portfolio.

Kalpokas has written to Korman rejecting the government’s offer, saying his party feels cheated. Kalpokas says the prime minister had offered VP three existing ministries one from the Union of Moderate parties and the other from the National United Party, with the third to come later. Kalpokas says the offer of a new ministerial post was unconstitutional as only 11 ministries are allowed.

The VP executive council says Kalpokas is still leader of the opposition in parliament because he hasn’t yet resigned from the post. The three other opposition parties elected Melanesian Progressive Party leader Barak Sope to be leader of the opposition when the Vanuaaku Party was negotiating a deal with the government to join the coalition.