Presidential elections were held in Bougainville (an autonomous region of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

) from November 30 to December 18, 2008. Voters elected the new

President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville The President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville governs the island, which is an autonomous entity within Papua New Guinea. List of presidents of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville The first President of Bougainville was Joseph Kabui ...

, following the death of President

Joseph Kabui Joseph Canisius Kabui (1954 – 7 June 2008) was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008. He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's C ...

while in office, on June 7. The potential resumption of controversial mining activities, which were at the root of Bougainville's

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in the 1990s, was reportedly a key issue in this election. There were twelve candidates at the by-election: Nick Peniai, Edward Okuwau, Gerard Sinato, Sam Kauona, Clarence Cozxiune, James Tanis, Ruben Siara, Sam Akoitai, Sylvester Niu, Joel Banam, Raymond Hakena and Patrick Leslie. The two favourites had been considered to be

's former mining minister Akoitai and former rebel leader Kauona. In total, 14 candidates stood in the election. Sinato represented Kabui's Bougainville People's Congress, while Hakena represented the New Bougainville Party. With 22,956 votes being cast, the election was won by James Tanis, a former

Bougainville Revolutionary Army The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force ...

separatist and the third-place candidate in the 2005 election, with 11,112 votes. Akoitai finished second with 9,217 votes,. Tanis was sworn in on 6 January 2009.

References

Elections in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville 2008 elections in Oceania Elections in Papua New Guinea 2008 in Papua New Guinea {{Oceania-election-stub