PORT VILA, Vanuatu (AP) — The two-party ruling coalition in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu will remain in power after increasing its parliamentary majority in national elections, officials said Tuesday.
The Vanuaaku Pati headed by Prime Minister Edward Natapei won 14 seats in the 52-seat legislature, down from the 19 in the last Parliament. The Union of Moderate Parties, led by Deputy Prime Minister Serge Vohor, also won 14 seats—twice as many as it held before the May 2 election.
Final results from the elections were released Monday night after counting votes from the archipelago’s far-flung islands.
The ruling parties will enter a new coalition with Natapei serving another term as premier, party sources said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
Natapei took over after the fall of previous Prime Minister Barak Sope amid corruption allegations in April 2001. Most parties and independent candidates campaigned on anti-corruption platforms. Vanuatu, a mostly Melanesian nation of 200,000 formerly known as the New Hebrides, gained independence from Britain and France in 1980 after 74 years of joint colonial rule.
A country of 80 thinly populated, fertile volcanic islands, it lies near the equator, 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.
With an economy based mainly on tourism, Vanuatu also exports copra, or dried coconut, along with small amounts of coffee, cocoa and other farm products. The country also operates a tax haven and shipping registry in an effort to bolster its flagging economy.
