Presidential elections were held in Bougainville (an autonomous region of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

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

President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, following the death of President Joseph Kabui 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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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 The Bougainville People's Congress was a pro-independence organisation and later political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. History It was established in the late 1990s as a representative body during the Bougain ...

, 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 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 Bougainville Bougainville {{Oceania-election-stub