President Dabwido Declares State of Emergency
President Dabwido declares
State of Emergency and calls for early elections
Today (27 May) His Excellency President Sprent Dabwido declared
a State of Emergency (SOE) under Article 77 of the Constitution of
Nauru.
In his Address to the Nation this evening (27 May) President
Dabwido stated two reasons for the declaration.
The first reason is that the economic security of the nation is
threatened and given that parliament was dissolved last week (23
May) an SOE under presidential powers was required to release
treasury funds for departmental use and overseas medical referrals
as well as to purchase food supplies for the hospital.
The second reason for the declaration is to bring forward two
weeks the date for general elections to 8 June in order to avoid an
overlap with budgetary processes.
The president stated that due to the delayed dissolution of the
House it has caused the two dates for election (previously
announced as 22 June) and budget process to overlap.
The government gazette will be issuing various Presidential
Orders including authorising of the SOE and the new election
date.
The new dates associated with the elections will be published by
the government gazette.
The president concluded his address by seeking the understanding
and support of the people of Nauru.