Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“Vanuatu’s parliament is set to elect a new government after the Pacific Islands nation’s top court upheld a ruling that said Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau had lost a no-confidence motion in August. … Vanuatu was plunged into a political crisis last month when opposition leader Bob Loughman lodged a no-confidence petition against Kalsakau, criticising the pro-Western leader for actions including signing a security pact with Australia. Loughman, who drew Vanuatu closer to China as the previous prime minister, has said the security pact with Australia compromised the country’s ‘neutral’ status and could jeopardise development assistance from China, its biggest external creditor.” (09/04/23)