- A small island country Vanuatu has elected a pastor as its new president following the death of its former head of states
- The new president Tallis Obed Moses was sworn in after winning 39 votes against his opponent
Vanuatu Island in the Pacific Ocean has elected its president after the death of its former president who passed away in June.
NAIJ.com gathered that the newly elected president, Tallis Obed Moses, who is a clergyman was sworn in after winning 39 votes against his opponent, former prime minister Maxim Carlos Korman.
The small country’s former president, Baldwin Lonsdale, was also an Anglican priest who was elected in 2014.
Pastor elected as president of small island country Photo Source: Vanuatu Daily Post
It was gathered that Lonsdale died of a heart attack in mid-June in the country's capital Port Vila.
According to Dan McGarry of Vanuatu Daily Post, the newly elected president received the support from the people’s desire for a moral leadership.
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He said: “He is well-regarded within his community and within the church. He is somebody to whom the nation will be looking for a degree of moral leadership.
“Our constitution says that the office of the president symbolises the unity of the people… and there are occasions when that becomes a very important issue.”
In Vanuatu, religion plays an important role with a population of 270,000.
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The former president Lonsdale became a significant figure in the country after he steered the country through a political crisis.
In 2015, corrupt leaders were convicted just six months after a Cyclone Pam caused serious damage to the stability of the country.
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