Edward Natapei - Second Time As Prime Minister (since 2008)

Second Time As Prime Minister (since 2008)

Natapei was elected Prime Minister on 22 September 2008, by the Parliament of Vanuatu after three weeks of negotiations following the country's September 2nd general election. Natapei received 27 of the 52 votes in Parliament to become Prime Minister for a second term. He narrowly beat his nearest opponent, Maxime Carlot Korman, another former Vanuatu Prime Minister and the leader of the Vanuatu Republican Party, who captured 25 votes in Parliament. Natapei succeeded Ham Lini as Prime Minister and headed a new coalition government encompassing his own Vanua'aku Pati, as well as Lini's National United Party, independents and several smaller political parties, such as Namangi Aute.

Natapei pledged to continue the policies and reforms of the outgoing Lini government. He announced that some of his government's primary policies would include transparency, good governance and fighting corruption.

Opposition leader Maxime Carlot Korman attempted a vote of no confidence motion just two days after Natapei became Prime Minister. The Opposition, led by Korman, claimed that two MPs had defected from Natapei coalition and were now supporting Korman. However, the Speaker of the Parliament George Wells rejected Korman's motion against Natapei on a technicality saying that one of the two MPs in question had not withdrawn their support for Natapei's government. A no-confidence vote was nevertheless held on 3 October 2008, but the motion was defeated, with 20 votes in favor and 31 votes against. Because Natapei's government won the vote by a substantial margin, it was expected that the political situation would be stabilized as a result. Nevertheless, another motion of no confidence was attempted on 25 November 2008; Natapei survived the vote by a narrow margin of 26 to 24. Three Vanua'aku Pati MPs signed the motion of no confidence, and after they refused to withdraw their signatures, Natapei suspended them from the party immediately prior to the vote.

In November 2009 Prime Minister Natapei, facing another vote of no confidence, organized a second major cabinet reshuffle. Natapei removed half of his cabinet members and cut ties with two political parties, National United Party and the Vanuatu Republican Party, when it was revealed that the parties and their members were planning to launch a no confidence motion against his government.

Natapei replaced the sacked cabinet members with sixteen members from the opposition Alliance. Among the highest profile reshuffles, Ham Lini, Natapei predecessor and a member of the NUP, was replaced as Natapei's deputy prime minister by the leader of the Alliance bloc, Sato Kilman. Maxime Carlot Korman will be replaced as the Speaker of parliament by George Wells. Alliance leader Sato Kilman confirmed that because of the reshuffle the Natapei government now had the support of 33 of the 52 MPs in the House.

On 27 November 2009, Natapei became ineligible to continue serving as Prime Minister. His parliamentary seat was declared vacant as he had missed three parliamentary sittings without informing the Speaker of the House. Despite being overseas on legitimate parliamentary business, his staff had failed to file the necessary paperwork with the Speaker to give notice of his absence. Serge Vohor became the acting Prime Minister. On December 5, however, Chief Justice Vincent Lunabek ruled that "the Speaker’s decision to unseat the PM on 27 November 2009 was ‘unconstitutional and of no legal effect’". On December 10, Parliament formally confirmed their confidence in Natapei, who thus remained Prime Minister.

Edward Natapei remains Prime Minister, with the support of 34 MPs (against 18 for the Opposition), as of June 2010.

On December 2 2010 Natapei was ousted by a vote of no confidence. He was succeeded by Sato Kilman.

On June 16, however, Chief Justice Vincent Lunabek ruled in a case put forward by Natapei, contesting the constitutionality of Kilman's election. Lunabek ruled that Kilman's election to office had indeed been unconstitutional, as "he speaker of Parliament Maxime Carlot Korman appointed Mr Kilman prime minister without following article 41 of the constitution which required he be elected by secret ballot". Kilman's premiership was annulled, and Natapei was restored as interim Prime Minister, instructed to convene Parliament for the election of a new Prime Minister. Natapei immediately indicated that he himself would not be a candidate for the position, and that he would support Serge Vohor's candidacy.

During his interim premiership, Natapei cancelled Vanuatu's diplomatic recognition of Abkhazia, issued by Kilman the previous month.

On June 26, Parliament elected Sato Kilman to the premiership, with 29 votes to Serge Vohor's 23, ending Natapei's interim duties.