Tallis Obed Moses, a long-serving Pastor and former leader of the Presbyterian Church, has been elected President of the Vanuatu Republic in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

He replaces the former President Baldwin Lonsdale who died suddenly from a heart attack last month while serving in office.

Dan McGarry, the media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post who was at Parliament this morning, said Mr. Moses' reputation as a man of "impeccable moral character" was a decisive factor played a significant role in his being elected to succeed Lonsdale.

The Vanuatu Republic is an archipelago nation with 270,000 population. It's located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia. </s> Tallis Obed Moses: Presbyterian pastor sworn in as Vanuatu's new President

Tallis Obed Moses has been sworn in as the new President of Vanuatu at a brief ceremony in the country's capital Port Vila.

One of 16 candidates that included former prime ministers an public servants, Mr Moses won the ballot as the ninth head of state after four rounds of voting.

Mr Moses, 63, is a long-serving pastor and former leader of the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu.

He replaces former president Baldwin Lonsdale, who died suddenly of a heart attack several weeks ago while serving in office.

Although the Vanuatu presidency is often seen as a ceremonial position, Lonsdale was widely revered in the Pacific nation, in part due to his handling of a corruption scandal that shook the country in 2015.

Dan McGarry, the media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post who was at Parliament this morning, said Mr Moses' reputation as a man of "impeccable moral character" was a decisive factor played a significant role in his being elected to succeed Lonsdale.

Mr Moses had received religious training and education in Australia and Papua New Guinea before serving as head of Vanuatu's Presbyterian Church. </s> There was applause and a sense of relief in Vanuatu's parliament today as Tallis Obed Moses was voted in as Vanuatu's new President.

Mr Moses, who had been a Presbyterian pastor, was sworn in this afternoon in a brief ceremony.

Photo: Dan McGarry - Vanuatu Daily Post

He was one of 16 people put forward for the role and emerged with two/thirds of the vote.

Mr Moses replaces Father Baldwin Lonsdale who died suddenly last month.

Media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post Dan McGarry was at parliament this morning for the vote which he said was a nail-biting affair with the President Tallis Obed Moses only emerging victorious with the very last votes cast.

Photo: Dan McGarry - Vanuatu Daily Post

Mr McGarry said the new president is a man of the cloth who trained in Australia and Papua New Guinea and has served as the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu.

"And he is also widely reviewed as somebody who is of impeccable moral character and I think that ultimately was the decisive factor as people took the legacy of the late president Baldwin Lonsdale into account when they cast their votes." </s> Pastor Tallis Obed Moses was sworn in as President of the Republic at lunchtime today. Nineteen votes secured this victory which was warmly acknowledged by all dignitaries and Electoral College personnel present. The new occupant of the highest Constitutional position paid a highly articulate tribute to his predecessor. And then he took centre place as kastom ceremonies were performed outside Parliament where the election took place.

Moses was trained in theology and evangelism in Vanuatu and Australia. He has previously served as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church General Assembly and as parish pastor in half a dozen parishes from Erromango to Luganville. He stresses the need for unity in Vanuatu: the kind of unity which enabled Vanuatu leaders to achieve the unity of the Republic as was desired at Independence.

In other news: the Government, Municipality and Police are determined to avoid the level of violence recently experienced in a Port Vila nightclub, including two tragic deaths. Police are taking strong action against premises which do not follow their licensed requirements, copies of which must be produced on demand to the uniformed officers. Patrons are required to carry identity papers showing date of birth. </s> President Baldwin Lonsdale died at Vila Central Hospital early this morning after being rushed to hospital last night.

President Lonsdale has been Head of State since September 2014. From Mota Lava island, Lonsdale was previously an Anglican priest, Secretary-General of Torba Province.

President Lonsdale played a critical role in recent events in Vanuatu. While category 5 Cyclone Pam was battering Vanuatu in March 2015, President Lonsdale was attending a world conference on disaster risk reduction in Japan, and his emotional appeals for international assistance helped galvanise the international humanitarian response to Cyclone Pam.

But arguably his greatest contribution came just seven months later in October 2015 when the then Speaker of Parliament Marcellino Pipite abused his position as Acting President to issue a ‘presidential pardon’ to himself and the 13 other MPs who had just been convicted of bribery.

The President, en route from Samoa during Pipite’s attempt to undermine the rule of law, returned to Vanuatu and immediately revoked the pardon.

During a televised address to the nation, President Lonsdale was visibly upset, expressing his “shame and sorrow” at Pipite’s misuse of his powers. He vowed to “clean the dirt from my backyard”, telling Vanuatu’s people that “we as a nation have to stop these crooked ways”.

Following a failed appeal against his revocation of Pipite’s pardon, Lonsdale then dissolved Parliament and called a snap election.

President Lonsdale’s actions were widely seen as a decisive blow against Vanuatu’s culture of impunity for corrupt politicians. Addressing the newly-elected MPs at the opening session of Parliament following the election, he described the new legislature as a “new chart for Vanuatu’s destiny”.

He will also be remembered for his leadership of Vanuatu’s Anglican church, and his strong support for kastom and for women’s rights.

The Vanuatu Government is currently making arrangements with his family and Motalava chiefs for a state funeral. </s> The President of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, has died of a heart attack, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported Saturday. He was 67.

Lonsdale, who sacked his government two years ago over a massive corruption scandal, passed away in the Pacific island nation's capital of Port Vila.

"National Flag is at half mast early this morning. His body is reportedly at the Vila Central Hospital," the newspaper said.

Former Vanuatu MP Sela Molisa told Radio New Zealand that "Vanuatu has lost one of its greatest leaders."

Lonsdale, a civil servant before becoming an Anglican priest, was elected to the presidency in 2014.

Although the role was considered largely ceremonial, Lonsdale became a symbol of hope for Vanuatu when Cyclone Pam caused severe damage in the country in early 2015.

Six months later he steered the country through a political crisis when half the government of prime minster Sato Kilman was convicted of corruption, making them ineligible for office.

After one of the convicted MPs, then-speaker of parliament Marcellino Pipite, pardoned himself and 13 colleagues in his capacity as acting president while Lonsdale was overseas, Lonsdale returned to dissolve parliament and call a snap election which saw Kilman's government defeated.

"He was firm and wouldn't be swayed," Molisa said. "I'm sure the government and every other -- especially at the political level -- people would recognise that Vanuatu has lost a very outstanding leader."
Tallis Obed Moses is elected President of Vanuatu, succeeding the late President Baldwin Lonsdale, who died in office in June.