<\/p>\n
Vanuatu’s president dissolved the Pacific island nation’s parliament on Thursday, state broadcaster VBTC reported, following an attempt by some politicians to oust the prime minister.<\/p>\n
Premier Bob Loughman was expected to face a motion of no confidence at the next sitting of Parliament after a group of lawmakers in his party said they had sided with the opposition in a bid to oust him.<\/p>\n
Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu on Thursday signed a notice to dissolve parliament to take effect the same day, a copy of the notice showed.<\/p>\n
Vanuatu was not due to go to the polls until 2024.<\/p>\n
A failed attempt by Loughman to change the constitution to extend election cycles from four to five years, among other changes, had sparked discontent in recent months.<\/p>\n
Opposition Leader Ralph Regenavu told Reuters the dissolution would be challenged in court and that most members of parliament supported the bid to remove Loughman.<\/p>\n
Regenavu said he had the support of 29 out of 51 lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Loughman and his supporters had boycotted parliament on Tuesday to avoid a vote of no confidence, he said.<\/p>\n
Loughman told VBTC that he was caretaker prime minister and welcomed the president’s decision.<\/p>\n
Reuters could not immediately reach Loughman’s office.<\/p>\n
The Pacific has become a focus of intensifying geopolitical competition between China and the United States and its allies this year, with China seeking to increase its security and commercial presence.<\/p>\n