By Rhiannon Hoyle 
 

SYDNEY--Papua New Guinea has elected influential lawmaker James Marape to succeed Peter O'Neill as prime minister.

Mr. O'Neill, who led the resource-rich but tumultuous Pacific nation for seven years, said Sunday that he was stepping down following weeks of political turmoil and government defections over his handling of various budget and health crises.

Mr. Marape was among those who defected to political opponents over a contentious multibillion-dollar gas project signed in April with France's Total SA (FP.FR) and America's Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). He returned to the ruling coalition after Mr. O'Neill's resignation.

 

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 29, 2019 21:59 ET (01:59 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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