The opposition in Vanuatu is really looking forward to taking charge of the government this Friday and promising to work for the people.
Charlot Salwai, the Leader of the Opposition, revealed his side determination to take charge of Vanuatu’s affairs in press conference, held on Monday this week.
Mr. Salwai’s statement came in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Speaker’s decision to vacate the seat of the MP for Ambrym Constituency, Bruno Leingkone, in Parliament. He emphasized that this ruling, along with another judgment confirming the absolute number of seats in Parliament as 26 due to the vacant seat, has boosted the opposition’s confidence.
On Monday this week, the Government side boycotted the Parliament sitting, the Opposition side showed up with 27 members to debate the motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Sato Kilman.
MP Salwai believed that their absence from Parliament was due to the fact that they did not have enough numbers and the court ruling on the vacated seat on Monday morning. He went on to say that the group he has have already shown their solidarity to be united, even though it has been just 8 months of their reign.
“I would like to thank leaders of political parties, who are in the Opposition, as well as Members of Parliament, Chiefs, church leaders, and every authority in the Republic of Vanuatu since despite the political crisis we are going through, people have remained calm to let the process of law operate.
“The priority will be to open more dialogue and policy discussions with the members of Parliament and to hold more dialogue with the opposition as a way forward. I think there are bills in place to address the political integrity of the government.
“The opposition also welcomed an MP from the Government side who came and joined the opposition this morning, which brings the numbers up to 27. I can say that the opposition is confident to form a government on Friday,’’ said MP Salwai.
Former Prime Minister, Ishmael Kalsakau, also stated that the Opposition side prioritized the integrity bill and when they go into Parliament, they will put an end to those kinds of attitudes.
