1967 Nauruan Constitutional Convention Election
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Constitutional Convention elections were held in
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
on 19 December 1967.Nancy Viviani (1970) ''Nauru: Phosphate and Political Progress'' Australian National University Press, p173


Background

The Constitutional Convention consisted 27 elected members and the nine elected members of the Legislative Council.They'll be independent or bust!
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1968, p24
A total of 96 candidates contested the 27 elected seats. There were fewer than 1,000 registered voters.Nauruans find independence is good for their Constitution
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1968, p35


Aftermath

The 36 members of the Convention met for the first time on 3 January 1968, with the purpose of drawing up a new constitution in preparation for independence later in the year. Several issues were debated during the Convention's sitting, including whether the death penalty should be expressly banned by the new constitution (rejected by 26 votes to 8), whether the government should have the power to levy taxes (passed by 17 votes to 15), whether religious schools should be fully funded by the state (defeated by 15 votes to 12), and whether there should be an increase in the royalties from phosphate mining (passed by 14 votes to 12 but later overturned by a vote of 18 to 8).Viviani, p174–175 On 29 January 1968 the Convention approved the new constitution unanimously.Viviani, p176 It provided for an 18-member Legislative Assembly with a three-year term. The Assembly would then appoint a five-member
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
to exercise
executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...
.


References

{{Nauruan elections
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
1967 in Nauru Elections in Nauru December 1967 events in Oceania