The speaker of Vanuatu's parliament, Maxime Carlot Korman has finally resigned rather than face a planned government motion of no-confidence against him.
The secretary general of the parliament, Lino Saksak, confirmed at the parliament chamber this afternoon that he has received the resignation letter from Mr Korman.
Mr Saksak says that following the sudden resignation, the position of speaker is now vacant.
He told the parliament that it is a matter of urgency to elect a new speaker.