Coalition government

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka revealed on Tuesday that the state will provide F$200 (NZD$144) per child to families who earn less than F$50,000 per year.

The education initiative - a first by the three-party coalition - was aimed at ensuring children from "lower-income homes have the best possible start to the 2023 school year", Rabuka said.

"This is due to the hardship many families are facing in the last couple of years due to Covid-19 and the contraction of our economy, whereby a lot of people have lost their jobs," he said.

The Vanuatu parliament will sit for the first time since the election today, where a new coalition government will be formed.

A massive rebuild lies ahead in the wake of the extensive destruction caused by Cyclone Harold, and the country's tourism-dependent economy has been shattered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnny Koanapo, whose Vanua'aku Pati has signed an agreement with the previously opposition Union of Moderates Party, said whichever bloc forms government has a massive task.

The New Zealand First leader has been in back-to-back meetings for four straight days now as both National and Labour try to win his party's support to form a government.

But today there is a real sense of urgency, with Mr Peters saying it would be the most substantive day yet.

"Well we're probably going to be more focused on the subjects that we're going to deal with than at any time before that, that's just the nature of this negotiation," he said.

A source from the camp this morning confirmed 34 MPs woke up this morning at their Pele Island camp site, north of Efate island and are travelling today to Christelle Blue Resort on the south for their last night together before they travel to Port Vila tomorrow to elect a new prime minister.

The largest political camp led by members of the former opposition group continues to claim it has the backing of 36 of the 52 MPs.

But the chief administrator of the coalition's Vanuaaku Pati said the other camp, led by the caretaker government, was also claiming it would have the numbers on Thursday.

Unity Front for Change, the Leaders Bloc of Independent and single party candidates and a state minister were at Parliament House this morning where negotiations continued but came to no conclusion.

Some 15 journalists who were advised of the planned signing turned up at 9am and waited until after midday when newly elected members started moving out of the parliament area in their vehicles without any explanation.

The result was a resounding success for Tsipras' high-risk gamble when he resigned as prime minister last month and triggered an early election, barely seven months into his four-year term, in order to face down an internal Syriza rebellion over his policy U-turn to accept painful austerity measures in return for Greece's third international bailout.

Erdogan said he will meet with the parliament speaker on Monday, the day after the deadline for forming a new government, to complete the formalities. "After that, we will take our country to early elections," he said.