By-elections are held for the Parliament of Nauru to fill vacancies that occur between general elections. Previously, Nauruan general elections and by-elections used different voting systems. Nauru uses the unique

Dowdall system The Borda count is a family of positional voting rules which gives each candidate, for each ballot, a number of points corresponding to the number of candidates ranked lower. In the original variant, the lowest-ranked candidate gets 0 points, th ...

for general elections, but for by-elections it used a more conventional preferential system. Candidates had to receive an absolute majority of first preference votes. If none did, then the candidate with the least amount of first preference votes was eliminated, and the next preference votes on their ballots were distributed to the remaining candidates. This cycle continued until one candidate had an absolute majority of votes. A previous version of the Electoral Act in force in 2012, under the section entitled "Counting of votes in election", differentiates the methods of counting votes in a general election and by-election. The section entitled "Counting of votes in election" in the current Electoral Act applies the same vote counting method for every election in Nauru.

List of elections

1971 Ubenide election

A writ was issued by the

speaker of Parliament The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

on 29 June 1971 to fill a vacancy in the

Ubenide Constituency Ubenide is a constituency of Nauru made up of four districts: Baitsi, Denigomodu, Nibok, and Uaboe. It covers an area of 4.5 km² (1.73 mi²), making it the second largest constituency by area, and is the most populous constituency with a popul ...

. The election was held on 14 August. The winner was determined after the four count of preferences.

1972 Yaren election

A writ was issued by the acting speaker of Parliament on 20 April 1972 to fill a vacancy in the

Yaren Constituency The Yaren Constituency is one of the constituencies of Nauru. It returns two members from Yaren to the Parliament of Nauru in Yaren, and also is the de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or ...

. The election was held on 3 June. The winner was determined after the fifth count of preferences.

1976 Yaren election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 20 July 1976 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 28 August.

February 1977 Aiwo election

A by-election was triggered in the

Aiwo Constituency Aiwo Constituency is one of the constituencies of Nauru. It returns two members from Aiwo to the Parliament of Nauru The Parliament of Nauru has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The President of Nauru ...

when Speaker

Edwin Tsitsi Samuel Edwin Tsitsi (17 January 192520 May 1997) was a Nauruan politician. Biography Tsitsi was born on 17 January 1925. His father was Samuel Tsitsi. He was member of the Eamwidara tribe. In 1939, he entered the medical service as an apprentice ...

resigned as MP in December 1976. The election was held on 5 February 1977.

1977 Buada election

Austin Bernicke Austin Bernicke (died 13 January 1977) was a Nauruan politician. He was a member of the first Local Government Council in 1951, then a member of Parliament after it was established in 1966, serving until his death in 1977. He also served as a cab ...

died in January 1977. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 17 January 1977 to fill a vacancy in the Buada Constituency. The election was held on 5 March.

1977 Anetan election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 11 February 1977 to fill a vacancy in the Anetan Constituency. The election was held on 19 March.

June 1977 Aiwo election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 7 March 1977 to fill a vacancy in the

. MP René Harris lost his seat due to being convicted by a court of assault. The election was initially scheduled for 16 April, but it was deferred by a court judgment. By 9 May, the election was rescheduled for 4 June. The election was held on 4 June. Harris was re-elected.

1978 Ubenide election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 20 September 1978 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 21 October.

1979 Aiwo election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 6 February 1979 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 10 March.

1981 Aiwo election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 10 June 1981 to fill a vacancy in the

. MP René Harris resigned and ran in the resulting by-election as a way to test whether the voters of his constituency supported him. The election was held on 18 July. Harris was re-elected.

1984 Yaren election

Joseph Detsimea Audoa Joseph Detsimea Audoa (26 December 1921 – 18 April 1984) was a Nauruan politician. He served as a member of the Parliament of Nauru and its predecessors from 1955 until his death and was a cabinet minister for much of the period 1968 to 1983. ...

died on 18 April 1984. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 25 April 1984 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 26 May.

1984 Meneng election

James Ategan Bop James Ategan Bop (died 12 July 1984) was a Nauruan politician. He served as a member of Parliament and its predecessors from 1951 to 1955 and then from 1959 until his death, and was Minister of Finance for most of the period between 1968 and 1978 ...

died on 12 July 1984. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 23 July 1984 to fill a vacancy in the Meneng Constituency. The election was held on 25 August.

1988 Ubenide election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 29 July 1988 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 25 August.

1991 Boe election

MP Kenas Aroi died on 22 January 1991. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 28 January 1991 to fill a vacancy in the Boe Constituency. The election was held on 2 March.

1992 Boe election

MP Hammer DeRoburt died on 15 July 1992. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 27 July 1992 to fill a vacancy in the Boe Constituency. The election was held on 22 August.

1994 Ubenide election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 13 June 1994 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 9 July.

1996 Buada election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 28 June 1996 to fill a vacancy in the Buada Constituency. The election was held on 9 July.

1996 Anetan election

Roy Degoregore Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman language, Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' ...

died on 24 August 1996. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 2 September 1996 to fill a vacancy in the Anetan Constituency. The election was held on 5 October.

February 1998 by-elections

In early 1998, five Nauruan MPs were dismissed by Speaker

Kennan Adeang Kennan Ranibok Adeang (23 December 1942 – 26 December 2011) was a Nauruan politician who served as President of Nauru for three separate periods during the late 20th century. Born in Nauru, and educated in Australia, including at the Australian ...

. As a result, a writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 22 January 1998 to fill a vacancy in the following constituencies:

Boe BOE, BoE or Boe may refer to: Abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms * Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom * Bank of English, a representative subset of the 4.5 billion words COBUILD corpus * Barrel of oil equivalent, a uni ...

, Buada, Meneng,

Ubenide Ubenide is a constituency of Nauru made up of four districts: Baitsi, Denigomodu, Nibok, and Uaboe. It covers an area of 4.5 km² (1.73 mi²), making it the second largest constituency by area, and is the most populous constituency with a popul ...

, and Yaren. The elections were held on 21 February. Three of the five dismissed MPs were re-elected.

1998 Aiwo election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 24 June 1998 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 25 July.

2001 Ubenide election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 7 November 2001 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 8 December.

2005 Anetan election

A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 24 December 2004 to fill a vacancy in the Anetan Constituency. The election was held on 22 January.

2017 Ubenide election

MP Valdon Dowiyogo's death triggered a by-election. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 22 December 2016 to fill a vacancy in the

. The election was held on 19 January 2017. A report from the

Nauru Electoral Commission The Nauru Electoral Commission (NEC) is the body which oversees elections in Nauru. History Before the NEC, Nauruan elections were administered by the chief secretary, who was a political appointment by the president. The NEC was established in ...

noted that, given the amount of time since the last by-election in Nauru, some voters were confused by the preferential system used as opposed to the Dowdall system used in general elections. The MP who was elected,

Gabrissa Hartman Gabrissa Hartman is a Nauruan politician. She was a member of the Parliament of Nauru from 2017 to 2019, representing the Ubenide constituency. She is the third woman to be elected to the Parliament of Nauru. Hartman received her school education ...

, was the third woman elected to the Parliament of Nauru.

2019 Anabar election

Jaden Dogireiy Jaden Dogireiy (born 3 July 1977) is a former opposition member of the Parliament of Nauru. Career In the 2016 parliamentary election, Dogireiy was elected to represent the Anabar Constituency. Dogireiy served on the following committees: Con ...

's court conviction and subsequent disqualification from parliament triggered a by-election. A writ was issued by the speaker of Parliament on 1 May 2019 to fill a vacancy in the Anabar Constituency. The election was held on 30 May. Due to how close the results between candidates Ludwig Scotty and Pyon Deiye were, a recount was triggered. The election used the Dowdall system of voting.

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 ...

by-elections by-elections by-elections