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Vanuatu's parliament has elected Sato Kilman as the Pacific Island nation's new prime minister.
Key points:
- Ishmael Kalsakau appeared to have narrowly survived a no-confidence vote more than two weeks ago
- But the Supreme Court ruled he had in fact lost the vote and the opposition had an absolute majority
- Aside from domestic issues, Mr Kalsakau has been criticised for signing a security pact with Australia
Mr Kilman, who has previously been prime minister of Vanuatu on four occasions, was elected 27 votes to 23 in a secret ballot on Monday after a court upheld the results of a no-confidence motion against Ishmael Kalsakau.
The outgoing prime minister appeared to have narrowly survived a no-confidence motion brought by Opposition Leader Bob Loughman nearly three weeks ago.
The parliamentary speaker initially found the opposition fell one vote short, but last week the Supreme Court ruled the opposition had in fact won the motion of no confidence.
The no-confidence motion garnered 26 votes, compared to 23 votes against, but the parliament's speaker said it failed to win the absolute majority of 27 to remove a prime minister in the 52-seat parliament.
But as one seat is vacant and one MP did not attend the session due to illness, Supreme Court Judge Edwin Goldsbrough ruled that an absolute majority in a parliament with 51 members is 26.
The parliament Speaker, Seoule Simeon, lodged an appeal against that decision, but on Monday, the Court of Appeal ruled against him.
Sato Kilman, a former prime minister and leader of the People's Progressive Party, was chosen by the opposition as its candidate for prime minister when parliament sat at 5pm, local broadcaster VBTC reported.
Mr Kilman expelled 12 Australian Federal Police from Vanuatu in 2012 while prime minister after he was stopped while transiting through an Australian airport and his adviser was arrested by Australian police on tax fraud charges.
A police commissioner before entering politics, Mr Kilman served as deputy prime minister in Mr Kalsakau's government until May, when he was removed from cabinet.
Strategic rivalry in the Pacific
The Pacific Island nation has been perceived as being caught up in a geopolitical tussle between China and the West.
But other political commentators point to domestic issues as the reasons for the no-confidence motion, such as opposition to a proposed rise in the minimum wage.
Vanuatu's local economy has been struggling and parts of the nation are still recovering after twin cyclones earlier this year.
Mr Kalsakau has served as prime minister since November last year, following two weeks of negotiations of elected MPs to form government.
His government won international attention this year for its successful push to get the United Nations General Assembly to ask the world's top court to define the obligations of states to combat climate change.
In December last year, Australia and Vanuatu signed a bilateral security agreement, which was expected to increase military, policing and cybersecurity co-operation between the two countries.
Mr Loughman, who drew Vanuatu closer to China during his time as the previous prime minister, has said the security pact with Australia compromised Vanuatu's "neutral" status and could jeopardise development assistance from China.
The no-confidence motion stated, as quoted in The Guardian: "Prime Minister Maau'koro [Kalsakau] without the authorisation from the Council of Ministers did proceed to execute the Security Pact with a development partner."
The motion did not name Australia directly, but it is the only country Mr Kalsakau has signed a security pact with during his tenure.
"The Hon Prime Minister and his Government must conduct its relations impartially and not allow our independent and sovereign nation to be sucked into a game it does not want and to be used inappropriately by competing nations to exert dominance in our region."
Last week China sent police experts to Vanuatu amid the political crisis, and the Vanuatu police force said it would work with "all partners", including Australia, New Zealand and China.
China has signed a security pact with neighbouring Solomon Islands, causing concern among some Western nations about Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific.
ABC/Reuters