Early parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 2010 after the previous parliamentary election in April 2010 had resulted in a deadlock between government and opposition, tied at nine seats each. This led to an extended state of emergency in Nauru as a result of this election.

Background

The election occurred during a state of emergency imposed by

President of Nauru The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament from among its members, and is both the head of state and the head of government of Nauru. Nauru's unicameral Parliament has 19 members, with an electoral term of 3 years. Political parties onl ...

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 ...

. Voters were given just one week's notice for the date of the election.

Results

The result was no clear majority, meaning a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

. One MP belonging to the opposition failed to be re-elected, while all 17 others were re-elected. Independent MP

Milton Dube Milton Dube is a Nauruan politician. He took part in the June 2010 parliamentary election, and came first in the Aiwo Constituency, unseating Opposition MP Dantes Tsitsi. It was Dube's first term in Parliament, The Nauru Parliament's two groups must compete for his support. Dube was elected in Aiwo constituency, unseating

Dantes Tsitsi Dantes Ingin Tsitsi (b. September 28, 1959) is a Nauruan politician. Political role Tsitsi was elected to Parliament in the 2007 general elections, gaining the seat of Godfrey Thoma and representing the constituency of Aiwo. He was re-elected ...

of the Opposition. The new MP declared himself independent, and stated he would support the side which would do the most for his constituency. He wants to reduce the levels of phosphate dust from a problematic drying plant. The MP in favour of government, Doctor

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 of ...

, planned to discuss the matter with Dube within a week of his election. Parliament have scheduled a sitting on the Tuesday morning following the election.

Aftermath

Aloysius Amwano Aloysius Arabao Iyomogo Edrick Amwano (also called ''Ali Amwano''; born 21 June 1955) is a Nauruan politician. Successive reversals of electoral fortune Amwano started his parliamentary career in 1998, when he won a vacated seat in a by-elect ...

was elected as speaker on 30 June, but demanded that Stephen stand down as president. Stephen's followers agreed to this, but only if the new president came from their ranks, with their preferred nominee being

. However, there are two other contenders,

Baron Waqa Baron Divavesi Waqa (; born 31 December 1959) is a Nauruan politician who was the 14th President of Nauru from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007. Political role Waqa was elected in ...

(the opposition leader) and

Godfrey Thoma Godfrey Awaire Thoma (born 22 January 1957) is a Nauruan politician and police officer. Member of Parliament Thoma started his first term in the parliament after being elected in 1995, ousting Theodore Moses after only three years. He had be ...

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 ...

, an opposition MP, joined the government on 6 July, but Amwano nonetheless refused to allow a motion to elect the president, suspending parliament until 8 July. Amwano was then dismissed on 7 July by Stephen, but refused to quit. In a short parliamentary session held on 9 July, Deputy Speaker

Landon Deireragea Landon Deireragea (born 16 May 1960) is a Nauruan politician. Parliamentary role Deireragea has been elected to parliament in the 2008 general elections, gaining the seat of Cyril Buraman. He represents the Anetan Constituency in the Parliamen ...

announced that he had assumed the Speaker's position. Following further disagreements, the president called a state of emergency. On 1 November former President

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 ...

was elected Speaker, ending the deadlock. Marcus Stephen was subsequently re-elected as President, defeating

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 ( ...

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