Yearbook 2011
Vanuatu. The year was marked by political and constitutional crises. On April 24, the newly elected Prime Minister Sato Kilman was cast in a vote of no confidence in Parliament. He had only held the post since December 2010, when he himself replaced Edward Natapei who was also petitioned by a vote of confidence. According to Countryaah official site, Serge Vohor was elected new Prime Minister after Kilman, who was thus given the post for the fourth time. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of VUT that stands for the country of Vanuatu.
Barely three weeks later, May 19, Sato Kilman was re-elected prime minister with the same government he had previously. This happened after a decision by an appellate court. Kilman and his supporters had appealed there because they believed that the vote of no confidence in April violated the Constitution. The Court ruled that the vote was illegal because Kilman had not been voted out by an absolute majority of MPs. The number of members who voted against him was 26, but according to the rule of absolute majority, 27 votes would have been required by Parliament’s 52. Serge Vohor welcomed the ruling and said that the Vanuatu people could be proud of having a functioning constitution.
Only a month later, the Constitution came into effect again. On June 20, the Supreme Court annulled Kilman’s election as prime minister in December 2010. According to the court, the election was unconstitutional because it had not been by a closed vote, which the Constitution requires. Edward Natapei was appointed acting prime minister until Parliament could elect a new regular prime minister. The vote was held on June 26. Then Sato Kilman was re-elected prime minister. He took home 29 votes and head opponent Serge Vohor got 23.