An indirect presidential election was held in Vanuatu on 1 September and 2 September 2009. The electors are the 52 MPs and the six heads of provincial governments; ten signatures of support are required for nomination. Outgoing president Kalkot Mataskelekele was renominated for a second term, but

Iolu Abil Iolu Johnson Abil (born 17 February 1942) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the president of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009. Biography Personal life Abbil is from Tanna island, which is located in Vanuatu's southernmost Ta ...

ultimately succeeded in winning a five-year term after three rounds of voting by the electoral college.

Election background

Kalkot Mataskelekele's five-year term as President of Vanuatu ended on August 16, 2009. The Speaker of Parliament Maxime Carlot Korman was sworn in as acting President until Mataskelekele's successor could be elected. Under the Constitution, the President of Vanuatu is elected by the 58 member electoral college, which is composed of the 52 members of Parliament as well as the six heads of each of the provincial governments of Vanuatu ( Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba). A presidential candidate must win two-thirds of the electoral college in order to be elected president. According to the Constitution, the presidential election must be held within three weeks after the previous office holder's term expires. The government of Vanuatu allocated approximately US$70,000 to cover the costs of the 2009 presidential election.

Candidates

Fifteen candidates seeking the presidency submitted their names to the electoral office – two women and thirteen men. However, only eleven candidates were ultimately found to be eligible to stand for election. The eleven eligible candidates for President were: *

Vincent Boulekone Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists * Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

* Leas Manu Cullwick * Enias Liatlatmal

* David Lovis * Kalkot Mataskelekele * Kalo Nial * Yvette Sam * Luke Siba * Belton Seth * Jacques Sese

Election

Eleven candidates, including two women, stood in the first round of the election on 1 September 2009 (fifteen had filed, but four of them were not eligible to stand).

won 16 votes, Mataskelekele won 14 votes and

won 11 votes. Kalo Nial and female candidate Yvette Sam both won seven votes. As 39 votes were required to be elected, a second round was set for 2 September 2009. The government claimed that its votes had been split between various candidates as the government had decided to allow individual MPs to decide whom to vote for in the first round, so that respect could be shown to previous leaders. The second round was also inconclusive, but in the third round (also on 2 September),

was elected with 41 votes. There were only six other candidates remaining in the third round. Abil was supported by the government (he was the PM's preference, while the deputy Prime Minister Ham Lini would have preferred to reelect Mataskelekele).

Results

;First round * Vincent Boulekone – 16 votes * Kalkot Mataskelekele – 14 votes * Iolu Abil – 11 votes * Kalo Nial – 7 votes * Yvette Sam – 7 votes ;Second round * Iolu Abil – 26 votes * Kalkot Mataskelekele – 16 votes * Vincent Boulekone – 16 votes ;Third round * Iolu Abil – 41 votes * Kalkot Mataskelekele – 16 votes

References

External links

RNZI: 15 candidates stand for Vanuatu presidencyVanuatu Opposition predicts new president not likely tomorrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabonese Presidential Election, 2009

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2009 elections in Oceania 2009 in Vanuatu