constitutional changes

The changes included increasing the number of Government Ministries from 13 to 17 and putting the chief justice on a term limit.

The Daily Post newspaper said the Parliament sitting last Friday was "short-lived" after only 31 MPs out of 52 MPs were present.

The opposition side of the House as well as one of the government coalition's own member parties that is led by former Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, boycotted the special sitting.

The changes included increasing the number of Government Ministries from 13 to 17 and increasing domestic as well as international allowances.

The Daily Post newspaper said the Parliament sitting last Friday was "short-lived" after only 31 MPs out of 52 MPs were present.

The opposition side of the House including former Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai's faction boycotted the special sitting.

Before the sitting, opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu had appealed to MPs on the Government side of the House to join his group to boycott the sitting.

These include extending the term of parliament, changing the definition of a Vanuatu citizen, and increasing the size of Cabinet by nearly a third.

A second session of parliament on Friday was adjourned because of a lack of MPs.

Prime Minister Bob Loughman wants to push through at least 15 constitutional changes which the opposition and some MPs in both his coalition and his own Vanuaaku Pati oppose.

On Friday there were only 31 of the 52 MPs present.

For a constitutional change a minimum of 34 MPs is needed.

It is among several constitutional amendments proposed by Mr Putin, which are set to be put to a public vote.

Critics see the proposals as a move by Mr Putin to keep a hold on power after his presidential term ends in 2024.

The package includes a proclamation of Russians' faith in God and a ban on giving away any Russian territory.

If approved by the public, the proposals would transfer power from the presidency to parliament.

Mr Putin is due to step down in 2024 when his fourth term of office comes to an end.

But there is speculation he could seek a new role or hold on to power behind the scenes.

Mr Putin put forward his plans in his annual state of the nation address to lawmakers. Later, in an unexpected move, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that the government was resigning to help facilitate the changes.

He was speaking to the media after a forced postponement of the extra ordinary sitting of parliament yesterday.

The parliament sitting was adjourned to Thursday 16 June due to a lack of quorum aggravated by a boycott by the 14-members Opposition Solidarity Bloc.

The prime minister conceded “parliament could not proceed because it lacks the required 39 members to substantiate a quorum. Only 35 government MPs were present including the Speaker, Esmon Saimon.

This is in line with its political reform policy that aims to limit any chances for political instability.

Explanatory notes sent to all parliamentarians say the purpose of the constitutional amendments are to enable regulation of political parties and safeguard political stability and integrity of leaders in Vanuatu.