The people of Nauru have spoken, and it is with the greatest of humility and honour that I announce that they have overwhelmingly re-elected the current Government with an increased majority in Parliament.
All members of the Waqa Government were re-elected except speaker Ludwig Scotty, to whom I send my heartfelt thanks for serving the people of Nauru for over three decades.
I also acknowledge other MPs from the last parliament who lost their seats – Mathew Batsiua, Marcus Stephen, Sprent Dabwido and Squire Jeremiah – and thank them for their service.
Today, the Parliament of Nauru re-elected me as President, and I will accept the challenge of leading our small but proud nation once again. Nauru has enjoyed three years of stability and progress, and we can now look forward to further continuity of government and longer-term stability.
At this election, the people of Nauru took a strong stand against what they did not like over the last three years – the continual trashing of our country in the overseas media, the riots that were coordinated by Opposition MPs on Parliament House and other behaviour that is not consistent with Nauru’s culture, history, beliefs or way of life. The ringleaders of all of this behaviour were defeated.
The election result is a firm vote of confidence in the Government’s economic and reform agenda. We went to the people confident that we had brought more prosperity to Nauru than our nation has seen for decades, and that we had moved on from the cronyism and corruption of previous administrations.
Over the past three years, Nauru has been welcomed into the IMF and World Bank, created a financial fund for future generations, seen the re-establishment of banking operations in our country, reformed our legal system to one of the best in the Pacific and overseen a transition to full employment.
It is now time for all MPs in the new parliament to work together in the interests of Nauru. A new parliament means new opportunities to focus on what unites us, rather than what divides us. The new Government will work with all MPs in a constructive and consultative manner, to ensure that Nauru continues to grow and prosper.
Our motto is “God’s Will First”, and I appeal to all MPs and indeed all citizens to remember this as we advance together. We are not ashamed of our Christian heritage; it is a part of who we are as a people and where we are going as a nation.
Thank you to all Nauruans for the trust you have shown in our Government. We will not let you down.