Vanuatu Politics

Reliable sources close to the opposition have told the Daily Post newspaper that the opposition bloc, led by former PM Bob Loughman, is planning for the no confidence vote against both Kalsakau and the Speaker of Parliament, Seoule Simeon.

On Friday, the Vanuatu Supreme Court ruled that the vote in parliament on August 16 was won by the opposition and that the absolute majority in a Parliament of 51 MPs was 26.

The government remained in power only due to a stay order that allowed it to appeal the ruling.

Vanuatu, at the centre of a strategic rivalry between China and Western countries in the region, was plunged into a political crisis when opposition leader Bob Loughman lodged the no-confidence petition criticising Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau for signing a security pact with Australia.

Loughman, who drew Vanuatu closer to China as the previous prime minister, said the security pact with Australia compromised Vanuatu's "neutral" status and could jeopardise development assistance from China, its biggest external creditor.

Ms King pays respect to women who trailblazed before her but says, more than four decades on from independence, little has changed for women trying to make a career in national politics.

At a recent FIFA World Cup Gender Symposium hosted by Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Ms King said that “in the community, in education, in health, in sports, in football…whatever the association or institution you’re serving in, it is important that women have a place on the table where decisions have been made.”