become Prime Minister, while outgoing Prime Minister Ham Lini would become Natapei's Deputy Prime Minister. However, the leader of the Vanuatu Republican Party, Maxime Korman, now claims he has enough votes to form his own government and become Prime Minister. The ultimate results of the election are still unpredictable. Results Final results were announced on 10 September 2008. The Vanua'aku Party had won the most seats (11 out of 52) and Edward Natapei was expected to become prime minister; he was expected to select outgoing prime minister Ham Lini (National United Party) as his deputy. However, Maxime Carlot Korman of the Vanuatu Republican Party also claimed he had enough votes to form the government. Natapei was elected by Parliament on 22 September, winning with 27 to 25 votes against Korman in a secret ballot. Subsequent by-elections 2009 Southern Islands by-election, following the death of Ture Kailo, Vanua'aku MP for the Southern Islands. By-election won by Vanua'aku Party candidate Philip Charley. Analysis Derek Brien, of the Pacific Policy Institute of Public Policy in Port Vila, made the following comment on the election: "In effect we've had two elections here in Vanuatu. We've got the election here in town, Port Vila, and Efate, the island on which it's situated, and then the rest of the country where 80 per cent of the population lives. And I say that because in the lead up to the election a lot of the media, a lot of the analysts were predicting a mood for change. I think what we forgot in that debate, or in that discussion in the lead up to the election, what was the rest of the country talking about. The rural areas where the majority of people don't have access to newspapers, televisions and, in the last few years, radio because there's been a problem with the transmitter. And in a lot of cases the rural electorate has been totally disengaged from both the government process and certainly the political process. It's not about policy basis down there. It's about patronage. It's about personalities." See also List of members of the Parliament of Vanuatu (2008–2012) References Vanuatu General Elections in Vanuatu Vanuatu