Vanuatu Parliament Elects Kilman To Replace Pro-Western PM

Port Vila, Vanuatu, Sept 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Sep, 2023 ) :Vanuatu's parliament elected former premier Sato Kilman as prime minister on Monday, replacing Ishmael Kalsakau after a legal and legislative tussle brought down the pro-Western leader.

Kalsakau had failed to annul a vote of no confidence on Monday, with a court dismissing his appeal against an earlier ruling, opening the door for Kilman's appointment.

The 65-year-old Kilman received 27 votes in parliament to 23 for Kalsakau, who had been seen as friendly to the West, in a South Pacific region.

"As the new prime minister, I can assure everyone that I will do my best to communicate with other political leaders to bring an end to instability in Vanuatu," Kilman said.

Kalsakau had been in office since November. In that time he has signed a yet-to-be-ratified security pact with Australia and eyed plans to establish a Vanuatu military.

This is the fifth time Kilman has been elected prime minister. His most recent stint was back in 2016.

He has clashed with Pacific neighbour Australia in the past.

In 2012, he abruptly expelled Australian police personnel from Vanuatu after an aide was arrested for tax fraud while the pair were transiting through Sydney.

Kilman was also angered that he did not receive VIP treatment at the airport but was made to pass through customs and immigration like other passengers.

Many nations in the region are in desperate need of investment, as fragile economies falter and the costs related to climate change grow.

In March, two cyclones hit Vanuatu in as many days, damaging homes, flooding roads and uprooting countless trees, and prompting Kalsakau to declare a state of emergency.

Kalsakau told AFP a few weeks later that climate change was speeding the world towards "armageddon".

"Leaders need to react and react very quickly, urgently" he said, while spearheading an effort to have the International Court of Justice weigh in on states' climate-related obligations.

Kalsakau lost the vote of no confidence in August but argued the motion did not meet constitutional requirements.

A court later upheld the vote, prompting Kalsakau's appeal.