Pacific nation Vanuatu elects prime minister

Vanuatu's parliament resoundingly elected a former foreign minister as premier Tuesday, less than two months after a deadly earthquake rocked the Pacific nation.

Jotham Napat, a senior disaster management official before entering politics, was backed to be prime minister by 50 of the 52 members of parliament, a livestream of the proceedings showed. Two ballots were declared void.

The 52-year-old had been favored to take the top job after his Leaders Party of Vanuatu won nine seats in January elections -- more than any other party.

While foreign minister from 2022-2023, he told local media of the government's commitment to "strong diplomatic relations" with China but also said the two countries did not discuss security matters.

Vanuatu, home to around 330,000 people, has strong relations with Australia, which touts its role as the archipelago's largest single aid donor and strongest security partner.

Napat was a weather forecaster in his early career, later taking a string of top positions including as chairman of Air Vanuatu and head of the country's national disaster committee, the parliament website showed.

After entering parliament in 2016, he served in senior roles including as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

The January general election date was postponed for two days after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu in December, killing 14 people, rupturing roads and flattening buildings in the capital Port Vila.

Vanuatu's parliament had already been dissolved in November, before disgruntled MPs could launch a no-confidence motion designed to topple Charlot Salwai, who was then prime minister.

The motion reportedly cited a grab bag of grievances including the flagging fortunes of national carrier Air Vanuatu, a teachers' strike and financial transparency questions.

Such political instability has become familiar in the former British and French colony, which changed prime minister 20 times between 1991 and 2017.

The tumult reached crisis levels at the end of 2023, when Vanuatu churned through three premiers in the space of a month.

© Agence France-Presse