6 Apr 2010

Doubts within French Polynesia's coalition

11:48 am on 6 April 2010

There is doubt within French Polynesia's ruling majority that it will have the numbers to elect a new assemby president later this week.

This comes after the current assembly president, Philip Schyle, and one of his colleagues quit the To Tatou Aia Party because it decided for him to be replaced by a candidate from the coalition partner, the Tahoeraa Huiraatira.

The resignations mean that the coalition may fall short of the numbers needed to elect a replacement for Mr Schyle.

The To Tatou Aia agreed last weekend to go ahead with renewing the position after the Tahoeraa Huiraatira insisted that a coalition deal signed last year be honoured.

The Tahoeraa warned that if the arrangement was ignored there would no longer be a majority.

No candidate has been nominated apart from Mr Schyle who says he would like to stay on.