|
The Cabinet of Vanuatu (formally the Council of Ministers of Vanuatu) is the cabinet (executive branch) of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu. The Constitution of Vanuatu (Art. 39(1)) specifies that "()he executive power of the people of the Republic of Vanuatu is vested in the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers". The number of Ministers must not "exceed a quarter of the number of members of Parliament" (Art. 40(2)). The Prime Minister, who is directly elected by Parliament, appoints other Ministers from among the members of Parliament (Art. 42(1)). The Council is "collectively responsible to Parliament" (Art. 43(1)).〔(Constitution of Vanuatu )〕 ==Current cabinet (2015–present)== On 11 June 2015, three government MPs crossed the floor, enabling the Opposition to oust Joe Natuman's government through a motion of no confidence. Natuman's previously sacked Foreign Affairs Minister Sato Kilman, who had been Prime Minister from 2011 to 2013, was chosen by Parliament to serve as Prime Minister again. He appointed the following Cabinet.〔("Vanuatu announces new cabinet after new prime minister Sato Kilman is elected" ), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 12 June 2015〕 In August 2015, legal proceedings were initiated against 18 government MPs accused of corruption—specifically, of having accepted bribes. Among them were five government ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Moana Carcasses. Finance Minister Willie Jimmy pleaded guilty when brought to court on 2 September ; the other accused all pleaded not guilty.〔("Vanuatu finance minister Willie Jimmy pleads guilty to charges of bribery in trial implicating 18 MPs" ), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 3 September 2015〕 On 9 October, 14 government MPs were convicted of bribery; among them, Deputy Prime Minister Moana Carcasses Kalosil, Foreign Affairs Minister Serge Vohor, Lands Minister Paul Telukluk, Public Utilities Minister Tony Nari, Climate Change Minister Thomas Laken, and parliamentary Speaker Marcellino Pipite. Pipite, as Acting President (President Baldwin Lonsdale being out of the country at the time) swiftly issued a full pardon for himself and his colleagues (with the exception of Willie Jimmy).〔("Vanuatu's acting president uses interim executive powers to pardon himself and 13 others convicted of bribery" ), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 11 October 2015〕 While President Lonsdale promised to address the situation, and Prime Minister Kilman remained silent several days after the pardons, Education Minister Alfred Carlot defected to the Opposition along with backbenchers Don Ken and Isaac Hamariliu, to support a motion of no confidence against Kilman's government.〔("Carlot, Ken and Hamariliu defect in Vanuatu" ), Radio New Zealand, 16 October 2015〕 On 16 October, Lonsdale revoked the pardons, citing their unconstitutionality (pardons may only apply to a sentence, not to a conviction), and Pipite's breach of the leadership code of good conduct.〔("Vanuatu president revokes pardons passed by maverick speaker" ), ''The Guardian'', 16 October 2015〕 Ministers Telukluk, Nari, and Laken were promptly arrested on a charge of conspiracy to defeat the course of justice, for having pushed Pipite to issue the pardons. Upon their arrest, they were removed from government by Kilman. Pipite himself was also arrested on that charge, along with government backbenchers Silas Yatan, Tony Wright, John Amos, Arnold Prasad, Sebastian Harry, Jean-Yves Chabot and Jonas James.〔("Vanuatu ministers removed from cabinet following arrests" ), Radio New Zealand, 16 October 2015〕 The Kilman government nonetheless challenged in court the legality of Lonsdale's revocation of the pardons.〔("Legality of Vanuatu pardons tested" ), Radio New Zealand, 20 October 2015〕 The court dismissed the challenge, confirming that Pipite's pardons had been invalid (due largely to a conflict of interest), and that Lonsdale had acted legally in revoking them.〔("Vanuatu court rules against speaker Pipite for pardoning himself while acting as president" ), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 21 October 2015〕 On 22 October, the Supreme Court sentenced Carcasses to four years in gaol, and Vohor, Pipite and the other convicted MPs to three years. Jimmy received a 20-month suspended sentence.〔("Vanuatu court sentences 14 MPs to jail for corruption" ), BBC News, 22 October 2015〕 Don Ken, returning to the government benches after having briefly defected to the Opposition, was sworn in as the new Minister for Public Infrastructure and Public Utilities, as Sato Kilman resisted calls to resign.〔("Calls for Vanuatu PM to step down in wake of MPs' jailing" ), Radio New Zealand, 23 October 2015〕 On 11 November, Dunstan Hilton was reshuffled to the position of Minister for Trade, and was replaced as Minister for Justice by Robert Bohn, brought in from the back benches. Christopher Emelee, the Minister for Agriculture, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.〔("Christopher Emelee is new Vanuatu deputy PM" ), Radio New Zealand, 11 November 2015〕 Havo Molisale (Nagriamel) replaced Serge Vohor as Minister for Foreign Affairs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cabinet of Vanuatu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|