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Vanuatu elected a pastor as its new president Thursday as the tiny pacific nation eyes continued “moral leadership” following the sudden death of its former head of state last month, local media said.
Tallis Obed Moses, a Presbyterian and clergyman most of his life, was sworn in after winning 39 votes against former prime minister Maxim Carlos Korman’s 17 votes, the Vanuatu Daily Post told AFP.
He replaces Baldwin Lonsdale, an Anglican priest who was elected to the presidency in 2014 but died of a heart attack in mid-June in the capital Port Vila.
“It came right down to the last vote,” the Post’s Dan McGarry said of the nail-biting finish, which followed three rounds of voting and involved 16 candidates.
Religion plays an important role in Vanuatu, whose 270,000 population is largely Christian, with the majority Protestants and about 12 percent Catholic.
McGarry said support for Moses stemmed from a desire for “moral leadership”.
Tallis Obed Moses, a Presbyterian and clergyman most of his life, was sworn in after winning 39 votes against former prime minister Maxim Carlos Korman’s 17 votes, the Vanuatu Daily Post told AFP.
He replaces Baldwin Lonsdale, an Anglican priest who was elected to the presidency in 2014 but died of a heart attack in mid-June in the capital Port Vila.
“It came right down to the last vote,” the Post’s Dan McGarry said of the nail-biting finish, which followed three rounds of voting and involved 16 candidates.
Religion plays an important role in Vanuatu, whose 270,000 population is largely Christian, with the majority Protestants and about 12 percent Catholic.
McGarry said support for Moses stemmed from a desire for “moral leadership”.
