Vanuatu parliament elects a new prime minister
New Prime Minister of Vanuatu Hon. otham Napat at UN ICJ
12 February 2025. Jotham Napat has been elected as the new prime minister of Vanuatu.
Napat was elected unopposed in Port Vila on Tuesday, receiving 50 votes with two void votes.
He is the country's fifth prime minister in four years and will lead a coalition government made up of five political parties: Leaders Party, Vanua'aku Party, Graon Mo Jastis Party, Reunification Movement for Change, and the Iauko Group.
Napat is the president of the Leaders Party, which secured the most seats in the House after the snap election last month.
The former prime minister Charlot Salwai nominated Napat for the top job.
The nomination was seconded by Ralph Regenvanu, the president of the Graon Mo Jastis Pati before the MP for Tanna and president of the Leaders Party accepted the nomination.
The MP for Port Vila and leader of the Union of Moderate Parties, Ishmael Kalsakau, congratulated Napat on his nomination and said there would be no other nomination for prime minister.
Who is Jotham Napat?
Jotham Napat is an MP for Tanna Constituency and is the president of the Leaders Party which emerged from the January 16 Snap Election with nine seats making it the largest party in parliament.
He was born on Tanna in August 1972.
The 52 year old heads a five party coalition government with more micro parties likely to affiliate to his administration in the coming days and weeks.
More than 30 MPs were seated on the government side of the house for today's parliament sitting.
Mr Napat was first elected to the house in 2016.
He was re-elected in 2020 and again in the snap elections of 2022 and 2025.
Before entering parliament he chaired the National Disaster Committee in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Pam.
New government facing many challenges
The incoming government will have a long list of urgent priorities to attend to, including the 2025 Budget and the ongoing rebuild of the central business district in the capital Port Vila after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in December.
That quake claimed 14 lives, injured more than 200 people, and displaced thousands.
One voter who spoke to RNZ Pacific during last month's election said they wanted leaders with good ideas for Vanuatu's future.
"And not just the vision to run the government and the nation but also who has leadership qualities and is transparent. People who can work with communities and who don't just think about themselves."
- RNZI
