26 Jun 2017

Vanuatu looks to appoint new head of state

2:58 pm on 26 June 2017

People in Vanuatu have until Wednesday to submit their nominations as the country looks to appoint a new head of state.

People in Port Vila mourn during the funeral procession of the late president Baldwin Lonsdale

People in Port Vila mourn during the funeral procession of the late president Baldwin Lonsdale Photo: Vanuatu Daily Post

An electoral college will meet next Monday to decide on a replacement for President Baldwin Lonsdale, who died a week ago.

Nominations for presidential candidates must be filed before Wednesday.

Any indigenous citizen who meets the qualifications to become a MP can be nominated.

A decision will then be made when an electoral college, made up of MPs and provincial government chairs, meets next Monday to vote for the new president.

In 2014, the electoral college went through eight rounds of voting before President Lonsdale received the two-thirds majority needed.

The role is largely ceremonial, but during a constitutional crisis in 2015, President Lonsdale was forced to step in to dissolve parliament and call snap elections.

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