A former member of the French senate, Simon Loueckhote, has announced that he is a candidate in next week's election of a new president of New Caledonia's Congress.
Mr Loueckhote last held the Congress position from 1998 to 2004 while he also served in the Senate in Paris.
He has told local media that the incumbent, Gerard Poadja, no longer has the confidence of all Congress members, accusing him of serving only his own Caledonia Together party.
Both Mr Loueckhote and Mr Poadja are Kanak politicians opposed to independence.
Mr Poadja was elected last year, succeeding a leading pro-independence politician, Roch Wamytan.
