By Rositta Liosi – EMTV Online
Hilda Heine, former Education Minister, secured 24 votes in the 33-member legislature, making history in becoming the first ever female President of the Marshall Islands.
Heine is also the first woman from the Marshall Islands to obtain a doctorate and is the founder of Women United Together Marshall Islands.
Her election comes a day after no confidence motion removed former President, Casten Nemra.
There have been previous no confidence motions and votes over the years, however it is an unprecedented development in the country for such a motion to be filed three days following an inauguration.
A correspondent for Radio New Zealand said, “the 33 senators in the Nitijela voted 21-12 in favour of the motion, ending the shortest presidency in the history of Marshall Islands.”
Also in a list of firsts for the country, about 40 per cent of the seats in parliaments changed hands in last year’s November elections.
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Hilda Heine elected Marshalls president
