General elections were held in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

on 7 September 2004. Initial results showed the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

winning by a wide margin, but close results led to 11 electoral petitions being filed, delaying the date Parliament could sit until mid-December. In the interim,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Robert Woonton Robert Woonton (born 1949) is a Cook Islands politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004, and later as High Commissioner to New Zealand. He was a member of the centrist D ...

announced that he was forming a coalition government with the rival

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

. This led to a split within the Democrats, with Woonton and four other MPs leaving to form the Demo Tumu Party. With 14 MPs, the coalition had a comfortable majority in Parliament. The results of the electoral petitions saw the seat of Titikaveka change hands while Woonton's seat was a dead tie. Woonton subsequently resigned in order to fight a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, causing his government to be dissolved. He was succeeded by his deputy,

Jim Marurai Jim Marurai (9 July 1947 – November 2020) was a Cook Islands politician who served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Personal life Marurai was born in Ivirua, Mangaia. He attended Ivirua an ...

Results

By electorate

References

{{Cook Islands elections Elections in the Cook Islands

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

2004 in the Cook Islands

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results