Vanuatu Elects New President

Vanuatu Elects New President | theledger.com

he Associated Press
PORT VILA, Vanuatu
The South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu has chosen a new president, three months after its former leader was dismissed from office when his criminal past was exposed.

The new president, Kalkot Matas Kelekele, was elected Monday night by the nation's 58-member electoral college.

Reports Tuesday said Kelekele was elected by 49 votes in the college, which is made up of the nation's lawmakers and provincial leaders, from a field of 15 candidates.

Kelekele, a lawyer in Vanuatu's capital of Port Vila, is the first head of state in the country to hold a university degree.

In his first address following his election, he called on the government, churches, traditional chiefs and citizens to unite to build up the country, whose major industry is tourism.

The last president, Alfred Maseng Nalo, was deposed in May when it was revealed he had been convicted of fraud.

Kelekele said unity and peace were vital as Vanuatu prepared to celebrate its 25th year as an independent state in 2005.

Vanuatu, a nation of 80 islands and 200,000 people, lies 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia. Formerly known as the New Hebrides, it gained independence from Britain and France in 1980 after 74 years of joint colonial rule.