PORT VILA (RNZI/PINA) — Official results of the Vanuatu general elections show the two parties which will make up the government have both won 14 seats in the 52-member Parliament.
The political coordinator of the Vanuaaku Pati, Willie Reuben Abel, said the parties have agreed that Prime Minister Edward Natapei will continue to lead the next government regardless of the numbers.
He said Natapei’s Vanuaaku Pati also has the backing of four independents. Its partner, the Union of Moderate Parties, has the support of one independent, giving the coalition 33 votes in the Parliament.
The Melanesian Progressive Party, headed by former Prime Minister Barak Sope, won three seats, while the National United Party took eight.
