Pacific

Tahiti party calls on Paris to end French Polynesia impasse

15:10 pm on 25 February 2011

A small French Polynesian party has turned to Paris in a bid to help resolve the political crisis.

The No Oe e te Nunaa Party has written to the French overseas territories minister, Marie-Luce Penchard, asking for the French government to deal with the situation urgently.

It says a government without a majority is clinging to power at all costs while the majority opposition is obstructing everything systematically, with the public suffering in silence.

This comes as the President refuses to acknowledge the budget passed by the opposition in last weekend's assembly sitting.

Mrs Penchard has had numerous meetings with Tahiti politicians in the past year and has said electoral reforms will be in place before the end of the year.

However, the No Oe e te Nunaa says it wants elections to be brought forward - otherwise, it says, the population will have to endure this situation until 2013 when the next election is due.