Nauru president

The vote for a new president follows the successful vote of no confidence last week in the administration of Kun, who assumed office in September 2022.

Adeang is the longest serving MP in the current parliament, having launched his political career when he first stood in the 2001 general elections.

He also served as the Speaker of Parliament in 2004 and 2008 and held a number of cabinet portfolios including minister assisting the president as well as finance and justice, the Nauru government said in the statement.

After Kun was removed on October 25, two attempts were made to elect a replacement from two candidates - opposition MP David Adeang and the government's Rennier Gadabu.

On each occasion, the vote was nine-nine so Speaker Marcus Stephen, who does not get a vote in presidential elections, called for a third attempt to be held on Monday, October 30.

The new president will be the island's fourth leader in four years.

The testing was prompted following a positive PCR test done on PM Morrison after the meeting.

President Aingimea took a Covid-19 rapid antigen test returning a negative result, and then later took a second test using a Panbio antigen test.

The Panbio test kit is currently used in Nauru which the Nauru Covid-19 Taskforce confirms has a 98 per cent sensitivity rate.

However, President Aingimea is taking extra precautions and was due to do a PCR test yesterday.

PCR testing is the gold standard for detecting Covid-19 in the community.

The meeting coincides with the 50^th Anniversary of the Pacific Islands Forum. Nauru is a founding member of the Forum, along with six others - Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and Western Samoa – now Samoa.

Nauru’s President, Lionel Aingimea, and chair of the Micronesian Presidents' Summit (MPS), attended the meeting as a representative of the Micronesia leaders, who standing on the principles of the Mekreos Communique, are not attending the retreat.

President Aingimea, who is Chancellor of the USP and Chair of the USP Council, was made aware of the details of the situation by council members who advised that the visa permit of the VC was cancelled by the Fiji Government subsequently leading to his contract being terminated immediately.

Fiji‟s Minister for Immigration declared Prof. Ahluwalia and his spouse „Prohibited Immigrants‟ under Fiji‟s Immigration Act with immediate effect and ordered to leave Fiji immediately.

The meeting was held today (Friday).

The motion reads: “The Council resolved that based on the detailed and painstaking work undertaken by the Special Executive Committee, that found as at 24 August 2020 there being no allegations where the consensus or clear majority view were deemed material, that the proceedings initiated against the vice-chancellor and president is terminated.”  

Today’s meeting is a continuation of the special council meeting held on Friday, 3 July, convened to address allegations made against Professor Ahluwalia.

This follows legal advice that it “would not be in breach of the Charter and the Statutes for His Excellency the President of Nauru to continue in his capacity as a member of the Council and to chair the continuation of the meeting on Friday (3 July).”

The second council meeting on Friday resolved that the report from international accounting and auditing firm BDO be released to council members only and endorsed the proposal by Tuvalu in regards to the ordinance to govern the discipline of the Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

In his first interview with international media since his election in August, Mr Aingimea appeared to stamp out hope for a substantive change in position from former president Baron Waqa, who lost his seat after six years in power.

"This government and previous governments have never interfered with the judiciary," Mr Aingimea told RNZ Pacific in a wide-ranging interview on Thursday in which he defended Mr Waqa's controversial legacy.

Mr Aingimea won the vote for presidency 12 votes to six against former finance minister David Adeang.

President Aingimea acknowledged the tough work ahead, and as the “father of the nation” likened the 12,000 population of Nauru as being children that need protecting and guiding.

“My vision for Nauru is for us to work together, all members of parliament, because everybody has a contribution, everyone. Everyone has ideas, everyone needs those ideas to be voiced and when they need to be tempered, to be tempered.

Mr Aingimea, a second term MP, defeated David Adeang by 12 votes to 6.

He succeeds Baron Waqa, who lost his seat in Saturday's general election.

Former president Marcus Stephen, is the new Speaker of Parliament.

He won by 12 votes to 7 over Shadlog Bernicke when the new Parliament voted today.

Mr Aingimea is a former secretary of justice and served as an assistant minister in various portfolios in the previous government.