A former human rights lawyer was elected Nauru's new president Tuesday, following calls for widespread reform in the tiny Pacific nation which Australia uses as a detention centre for asylum seekers. Lionel Aingimea won a parliamentary vote for the presidency 12-6 over rival David Adeang, the Nauru government information office said.

It comes in the wake of a general election last weekend that saw more than half of Nauru's 19 lawmakers swept from office, including two-term president Baron Waqa. Adeang had been considered favourite to take the top job from Waqa, a strong supporter of Australia's hardline refugee policy. Australia's Lowy Institute think tank last year said the country of 11,000 "lurched towards authoritarianism" under Waqa's leadership.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019