Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Tuvalu to elect PM on Monday, four weeks after elections
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Tuvalu to elect PM on Monday, four weeks after elections
by AFP Staff Writers
Funafuti, Tuvalu (AFP) Feb 23, 2024

Lawmakers in Tuvalu will elect a new prime minister on Monday, the election commissioner has told AFP, a month after the Pacific nation went to the polls.

Stormy weather and rough seas had prevented several MPs from travelling by boat from outer islands to the capital Funafuti to select a new leader.

All 16 elected members, who won their seats in the January elections, have now reached the capital after a boat bringing the final few arrived on Thursday.

Election commissioner Tufoua Panapa told AFP that nominations will close Sunday, with the vote to elect the new premier to be held Monday morning at 1100 local time (2300 GMT).

"The governor general will release the result straight after the election," Panapa added on Friday.

Tiny Tuvalu's January 26 vote was closely watched in Beijing, Washington and Taipei amid rumours a new government could switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

Until a new government is formed, pro-Taiwan Prime Minister Kausea Natano, who lost his seat in the Funafuti constituency, remains in charge in a caretaker role.

After a new prime minister is chosen, there is speculation that Tuvalu -- one of just 12 states that still formally recognise Taiwan -- could flip allegiance to China.

Neighbouring Nauru severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China last month, feeding rumours Tuvalu could follow.

Beijing has already poached some of Taiwan's Pacific allies, convincing Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch recognition in 2019 before Nauru did the same.

Ahead of the election, Natano's finance minister, Seve Paeniu, floated the idea of Tuvalu reviewing its Taiwan ties.

With no formal political parties, the process of selecting a new prime minister and potentially changing government had already been expected to be slow, before bad weather forced further delays.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Solomons' PM vows 'look North' pro-China policy if reelected
Honiara (AFP) Feb 13, 2024
Solomon Islands' pro-China leader on Tuesday detailed a reelection campaign based on a "look North" strategy that would deepen security and economic ties with Beijing while retaining "traditional" allies like Australia. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare - who has accused "agents of Western powers" and shadowy enemies of trying to "pull down" his government - sounded a more conciliatory tone while launching his bid for a fifth stint as leader. Vowing to tap "opportunities offered through China's ... read more

WATER WORLD
Five drown in migrant boat sinking off Malta

Hundred-car collision on icy China road causes nine injuries

Munich Re beats profit forecast despite Turkey quake

US Supreme Court to hear 'bump stocks' gun case

WATER WORLD
Sony cuts 900 PlayStation jobs

'I need to fight': UK steelworkers in fear as less pollution means less jobs

Starnote extension by Blues and Skylo promises seamless satellite connectivity for IoT Devices

Rocket Lab Sets Course for Historic In-Space Manufacturing Capsule Return

WATER WORLD
Tuvalu to elect PM on Monday, four weeks after elections

Paris holds its breath for Olympic swimming events in murky Seine

Tuvalu names new PM, Taiwan says ties 'everlasting'

English rivers in 'desperate' state: report

WATER WORLD
Indigenous Colombians fret as sacred mountain glaciers melt

Indigenous Colombians fret as sacred mountain glaciers melt

Polar bears struggling to adapt to longer ice-free Arctic periods

Currently stable parts of East Antarctica may be closer to melting than anyone realized

WATER WORLD
Costa Rica coffee farmers innovate as rainfall plummets

EU parliament backs contested biodiversity bill

2 million animals dead as extreme winter weather hits Mongolia

New farmer show of force as EU ministers vow to target red tape

WATER WORLD
Turkey quake survivors seek justice one year on

Cyclone hits northeast Australia leaving thousands without power

Japan says New Year quake damage could cost $17 billion

Mauritius grounds flights as it braces for tropical storm

WATER WORLD
Niger debt suffers multiple defaults after coup

EU 'regrets' Mali scrapping peace deal with separatists

Blinken nudges Nigeria on capital flows for US businesses

Activist abducted in latest Burkina Faso kidnapping

WATER WORLD
Finding Skywalker gibbons with love songs: study

Roads, farming threaten Ecuador 'lost city' complex

Innovation in stone tool technology involved multiple stages at the time of modern human dispersals

Scandinavia's first farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.