Acting pres pardons himself, as he acted on behalf of the president

President Baldwin Lonsdale reacted furious when he returned to the country

In a brazen display of what can be done when the boss is away, the speaker of parliament in Vanuatu has pardoned himself and 13 fellow MPs of corruption charges while standing in for the travelling president. 

The mutiny in the South Pacific has plunged the island nation into a constitutional crisis as government lawyers try to work out whether they can overturn the pardons.

President Baldwin Lonsdale reacted furiously when he returned to the country.

"Vanuatu's credibility has been tarnished throughout the world, and I am deeply sorry to see this," he lamented.

But Marcellino Pipite, the speaker, argued that he had the executive power to issue the pardons as he was serving as acting president in Lonsdale's absence.

Pipite and 13 other MPs, including the deputy prime minister and several members of cabinet, were found guilty on Friday by the Supreme Court of Corruption for either receiving or giving bribes to overthrow the previous government. Reuters