March 2019 Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua by-election
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Constituency of Tengatangi–Areora–Ngatiarua | |||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 99.2% | ||||||||||||||||||
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A by-election was held in the Cook Islands constituency of Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua on 18 March 2019.[1] The by-election was called following the defection of sitting MP Te-Hani Brown from the Democratic Party in January in order to support the government of Henry Puna, which triggered a by-election under election law.[2][3] Brown ran as an independent with the support of the Cook Islands Party against Nandi Glassie, whom Brown had beaten in the 2018 Cook Islands general election.[4]
Results
[edit]Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
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Te-Hani Brown | Independent | 80 | 61.54 | |
Nandi Glassie | Democratic Party | 50 | 38.46 | |
Total | 130 | 100.00 | ||
Source: [5] |
Aftermath
[edit]Although Brown retained her seat, Glassie filed a petition against her victory. He alleged that she had effectively bribed voters by covering the charge of a private aircraft to carry voters to vote on Atiu; Brown maintained that this did not constitute an offence.[6] Brown resigned in April 2019 during the process of the petition through the courts and although Glassie was allowed to challenge the election result, this was reversed on appeal.[6][7] Brown's seat was declared vacant in September 2019, triggering another by-election.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 1 TENGATANGI-AREORA-NGATIARUA BY ELECTION 2019" (PDF). Government of the Cook Islands. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Te-Hani Brown wins Cook Islands by-election". Radio New Zealand. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Party hopping rules could affect Cooks MP's plans". Radio New Zealand. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Cook Islands Party will not contest Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua by-election". Fiji Times. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "The Cook Islands Gazette No. 15/2019" (PDF). Parliament of the Cook Islands. 21 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Cook Islands electoral petition decision reserved". Radio New Zealand. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Re-elected Cooks MP resigns during petition process". Radio New Zealand. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "DECLARATION OF VACANT SEAT IN THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COOK ISLANDS" (PDF). Government of the Cook Islands. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.