PORT VILA: Vanuatu's parliament voted to retain Prime Minister Sato Kilman as the Pacific nation's leader Monday following weeks of negotiation in the wake of an October 30 general election.
Kilman cobbled together a coalition of 11 parties to give him 29 votes in the 52-seat parliament and defeat his closest rival Edward Natapei.
His re-election is a rare example of political continuity in Vanuatu, which changed leaders five times between 2008 and 2011 after a series of no-confidence motions and legal challenges to parliamentary votes.
Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu lies about 1,900 kilometres (1,180 miles) north-east of the Australian city of Brisbane.
The archipelago of more than 80 islands with a population of 240,000 was administered jointly by Britain and France before gaining independence in 1980.
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