Parliamentary 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 April 26, 2008, following the dissolving of Parliament by President

Marcus Stephen Marcus Ajemada Stephen (born 1 October 1969) is a Nauruan politician and former sportsperson who previously was a member of the Cabinet of Nauru, and who served as President of Nauru from December 2007 to November 2011. The son of Nauruan par ...

on April 18. The decision came after what Stephen referred to as "months of political deadlock". Of the parliament's eighteen members, nine supported the Stephen government and nine were in opposition.

Events leading to election

The deadlock had been exacerbated by a crisis between the President and the Speaker of Parliament, Opposition member

David Adeang David Waiau Adeang (born 24 November 1969) is a Nauruan politician, former Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru, and Nauru's Minister of Finance and Justice, as well as the Minister Assisting the President of Nauru. He is a founding member of the ...

. On March 22, Adeang had called a Parliamentary session, allegedly without informing government ministers, who therefore did not attend. Opposition MPs, Adeang included, constituted a majority of legislators present, and passed a ruling outlawing dual

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

for Members of Parliament. The ruling, if applied, would have affected senior Cabinet ministers Dr.

Kieren Keke Kieren Aedogan Ankwong Keke (born 27 June 1971) is a Nauruan politician and medical doctor. He is a member of the Parliament of Nauru and former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Background He is currently a leading figure o ...

and

Frederick Pitcher Frederick William Pitcher (born 5 February 1967) is a Nauruan political figure. In December 2007, Pitcher was appointed Minister of Finance of Nauru, to serve in the Administration of President Marcus Stephen. Pitcher became the President of Na ...

. Had they been compelled to resign from Parliament, the Opposition would have controlled a majority of seats in Parliament. The law was overturned as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and Adeang subsequently sought to suspend all pro-government MPs from Parliament, citing their allegedly "unruly behaviour". A week later, Stephen dissolved Parliament. Two observers from the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

were present to monitor the election, at the request of the Nauruan government. There were 65 candidates for the 18 seats, among whom were former Presidents

Ludwig Scotty Ludwig Derangadage Scotty (born 20 June 1948) is a Nauruan politician who twice served as President of Nauru and was Speaker of Parliament five times between 2000 and 2016. He served as president from 29 May 2003 to 8 August 2003 and again from ...

and

René Harris René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.

Results

All nine supporters of Stephen (Stephen himself,

Mathew Batsiua Mathew Jansen Batsiua (born 27 May 1971) is a Nauruan politician. Batsiua, a former health minister and former foreign minister of Nauru, has served as a member of parliament for the constituency of Boe since 2004. Parliamentary role Batsiua has ...

Roland Kun Roland Tullen Kun (born 6 May 1970) is a Nauruan politician and Member of Parliament. Political career MP and Minister Kun was elected in 2004 to serve as a Member of the Parliament of Nauru and served as Minister of Justice. Kun was elected ...

Sprent Dabwido Sprent Arumogo Dabwido (16 September 1972 – 8 May 2019) was a Nauruan politician who served as the President of Nauru between 2011 and 2013, and was also a weightlifter. The son of a parliamentarian, Dabwido was originally elected to the Men ...

, former Speaker

Riddell Akua Michael Riddell Akua (born 26 January 1963) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of the Republic of Nauru. Background Akua has been a member of the Parliament of Nauru since 3 May 2003. From this date on he has also been an important pa ...

Dominic Tabuna Dominic Joselito Tabuna (born 9 August 1980) is a Nauruan politician. Earlier political career Tabuna was elected to parliament in the 2004 general elections, gaining the seat of Pres Ekwona. He has been subsequently re-elected in 2007 and 2 ...

and

Rykers Solomon Rykers Solomon (born October 4, 1965) is a Nauruan politician. Parliamentary role Solomon was elected to parliament in the 2007 general elections, gaining the seat of Dogabe Jeremiah. He has been re-elected in the 2008 polls. He was defeated ...

) were reelected, while three opposition MPs (former President

René Harris René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.Cyril Buraman Cyril Buraman is a Nauruan political figure and member of the Parliament of Nauru. Background Buraman stood for, and was duly elected to, the Parliament of Nauru, where the party system is not fully developed, and in 2007 was seen as an opponen ...

and

Fabian Ribauw Fabian Dominic Ribauw (born January 18, 1971) is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Nauru. Background and political role Ribauw was born in Baitsi. He studied in Australia and earned a BA in Economics from La Trobe University, Melb ...

) lost their seats; the government claims it has thus won the election. Indeed, all three newly elected MPs joined the government and thereby ended the legislative deadlock. The new parliament was expected to hold its first session on 29 April 2008."Gov't wins increased majority in Nauru"
AFP (''The China Post''), April 28, 2008.

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 ...

Parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Elections in Nauru Non-partisan elections Election and referendum articles with incomplete results