Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia announced earlier yesterday that the vote will happen on Tuesday.
Since Tomeing’s election in January, his government has held an 18-15 majority in the parliament. That majority will be tested by the first vote of no-confidence in seven years.
Foreign Minister Tony deBrum said the opposition will not get the 17 votes it needs to pass.
Opposition Sens. John Silk and Gerald Zackios — both cabinet ministers in the previous government — concede they have only 15 votes, but are hopeful government party senators will join them today.
The opposition slammed the government for what they claim are worsening relations with the U.S. government, which supplies more than 60 percent of the country’s $124 million annual budget.
But deBrum said these “are questions we’ve been addressing all (parliament) session,” deBrum said. “Most intelligent people understand the answers.”
