17 Feb 2015

New bid in New Caledonia to elect president fails

4:26 pm on 17 February 2015

The latest bid to elect a president of New Caledonia has failed.

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Cynthia Ligeard remains caretaker president Photo: AFP

The French High Commissioner in New Caledonia had convened a meeting of the territory's 11 government ministers for them to choose a president.

However, they could not agree on who should lead the government and no vote took place.

New Caledonia has been without a president for more than two months after the previous administration led by Cynthia Ligeard collapsed following a disagreement over fiscal policy among the anti-independence parties.

The Congress re-elected the same 11-member government in late December which remains in caretake mode because there is no president.

The employers' organisation has decried the impasse and called for the situation to be resolved as important matters need to be addressed, such as the planned introduction of a value added tax by 2016.

The three anti-independence parties in the collegial government have six ministers and the pro-independence parties five.

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