But the opposition’s move maintained the Marshall Islands’ unbroken record of government stability, as votes of no confidence have never been successful in the nearly 30 years of constitutional government.
Accusing the government of “deteriorating relations with the United States” — the country’s major aid donor, which provides about 60 percent of the Marshall Islands’ national budget — the motion of no confidence was introduced last week.
It had been a tension-packed week for the country, as government and opposition MPs huddled for this week’s vote.
About 500 people packed the parliament chamber yesterday morning in anticipation of the vote.
But they were disappointed when opposition party chairman Sen. Ruben Zackhras said the United Democratic Party had decided to withdraw the motion.
Several cabinet ministers objected, calling for the vote to be held. “Why did you file the motion in the first place?” Finance Minister Jack Ading said in response to Zackhras’s withdrawal remarks.
He said the government had been forced to halt planned travel and to bring people back from off-shore early for the vote, wasting time and money.
Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia chided the opposition for wasting the parliament’s time, and asked “can you withdraw the motion from the Internet?” in reference to news stories carried about the opposition challenge to government.
The parliament debated whether the vote should be held, but after about 30 minutes agreed that parliament rules allowed the motion to be removed by the opposition.
The parliament then immediately recessed until January.
“We knew we had the numbers (to defeat the motion),” Kwajalein Sen. and government party backbencher Jeban Riklon said in an interview after the session. “We were solid.”
President Litokwa Tomeing has held an 18-15 majority in the parliament since his election in January.
It was only the third motion of no confidence filed in the Marshall Islands since 1979.
