17 Jun 2011

New Caledonia could be heading for fifth election in three months

10:46 am on 17 June 2011

The Caledonia Together Party will convene tomorrow to decide if it will pull out of the collegial government and trigger a fifth election in just over three months.

This comes after yesterday's disagreements over the attribution of portfolios, with the Caledonia Together Party saying the principle of collegiality, as expressed by the French prime minister, has been ignored.

Walter Zweifel reports.

"One of the Caledonia Together leaders, Philippe Dunoyer, says there was no consensus in assigning portfolios after the Congress last week elected Harold Martin as the head of government for the fourth time since March. But a spokesperson for the government, Sonia Backes, says there is no point in holding discussions as there are always additional demands. Amid the continued threat of a resignation by the Caledonia Together side, she says an end to the crisis may only come about once France has changed the electoral law - a move due in about a month."