3 Jul 2017

Vanuatu govt aims for constitutional reform this year

8:25 pm on 3 July 2017

Vanuatu's deputy prime minister says his government is still intent on ushering in constitutional reforms to address political instability.

A statue at the entrance to Vanuatu's parliament in the capital, Port Vila.

A statue at the entrance to Vanuatu's parliament in the capital, Port Vila. Photo: RNZI / Jamie Tahana

The proposed amendments would change the rules around no confidence motions and rules which could potentially change the way parties contest elections.

The government needs a two thirds majority to pass the proposed amendments.

The deputy prime minister, Joe Natuman, says the government has the numbers and is working on making the proposed changes a reality.

"We have 46," he said. "There's only six people in the opposition so certainly we are still working on constitutional reforms and the ad hoc committee set up by parliament to look into constitutional changes is still considering that and hopefully this year we will probably take it further"

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