# Jotham Napat elected unopposed as Vanuatu’s new prime minister

*Event date: 2025-02-11*

Jotham Napat was elected prime minister of Vanuatu on 2025-02-11, winning 50 votes in parliament and taking office unopposed.

The RNZ Pacific report says Napat becomes the country’s fifth prime minister in four years, a reminder of how turbulent Vanuatu’s politics have been. He heads a five-party coalition made up of the Leaders Party, Vanua’aku Party, Graon Mo Jastis Party, Reunification Movement for Change and the Iauko Group.

Napat’s path to the top job was also political shorthand for the balance of power in the new parliament. He is president of the Leaders Party, which emerged from the January snap election with nine seats and became the largest party in the house. Former prime minister Charlot Salwai nominated him, and Ralph Regenvanu seconded the nomination before it became clear there would be no rival candidate.

That consensus did not mean stability would be easy. The incoming government faces immediate responsibilities, including the 2025 budget and the reconstruction of Port Vila’s central business district after the December 7.3 magnitude earthquake that killed 14 people, injured more than 200 and displaced thousands.

The scale of the task is important because it shows the new prime minister is inheriting both political churn and disaster recovery. Napat’s earlier public service included chairing the National Disaster Committee after Cyclone Pam, which suggests he will arrive with experience in crisis response as well as party leadership.

The article also points to the parliamentary arithmetic behind his elevation. More than 30 MPs were seated on the government side of the house for the sitting, and the Union of Moderate Parties’ leader Ishmael Kalsakau indicated there would be no alternative nomination. In that sense, Napat’s election was both unopposed and numerically decisive.

For Vanuatu, the significance is not just that a new prime minister has been chosen, but that the next administration must now manage a fragile coalition while confronting urgent reconstruction and fiscal decisions. The vote ended one chapter of uncertainty, but it immediately opened another.

Claim-to-source map

  • Jotham Napat was elected unopposed and received 50 votes: RNZ Pacific (3442)
  • He became Vanuatu’s fifth prime minister in four years and leads a five-party coalition: RNZ Pacific (3442)
  • Napat’s party won the most seats in the January snap election: RNZ Pacific (3442)
  • The new government faces the 2025 budget and Port Vila reconstruction after the December earthquake: RNZ Pacific (3442)