The politics of Nauru take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nauru is the head of government of the executive branch. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Nauru elects on a national level a head of state and a legislature. Parliament has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The president is elected for a three-year term by the parliament.
Marcus Ajemada Stephen 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 parliamentarian Lawrence Stephen, Stephen was educated at St Bedes College and RMIT University in Victoria, Australia. Initially playing Australian rules football, he opted to pursue the sport of weightlifting, in which he represented Nauru at the Summer Olympics and Commonwealth Games between 1990 and 2002, winning seven Commonwealth gold medals.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on April 26, 2008, following the dissolving of Parliament by President Marcus Stephen on April 18. The decision came after what Stephen referred to as "months of political deadlock". Of the parliament's eighteen members, nine supported the Stephen government and nine were in opposition.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 3 May 2003 to elect members of the Parliament of Nauru. The election took place with Nauru having economic difficulties and a large budget deficit. This was the main issue in the election, which followed a period where a number of presidents had been elected for short periods of time. However the election resulted in deadlock for several weeks afterwards, with parliament divided between three candidates for president. It was only at the end of May that Ludwig Scotty was elected as the new president of Nauru and was able to form a new government.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 23 January 1971. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents. Following the election, Hammer DeRoburt was re-elected president by members of the Parliament.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 15 December 1973. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 18 December 1976. Following the election, Bernard Dowiyogo was elected President by Members of the Parliament.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 12 November 1977, after Parliament had been dissolved by President Bernard Dowiyogo due to a sustained campaign against the government led by former President Hammer DeRoburt, who had been voted out of office the previous year. Particular controversy had been caused by the Supply Act passed in June, and Dowiyogo stated that elections would be held to give him a mandate. After Parliament failed to approve the budget, Dowiyogo asked Speaker David Gadaroa to dissolve the legislature.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 6 December 1980. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents. The election was won by supporters of President Hammer DeRoburt, who re-elected him President on 9 December.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 3 December 1983. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents. Following the election, President Hammer DeRoburt was re-elected by ten votes to six.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 24 January 1987. The Parliament elected in December 1986 had nine supporters of Kennan Adeang and nine of former president Hammer DeRoburt. The resulting deadlock was broken when Adeang supporter Kinza Clodumar switched sides, resulting in Parliament being dissolved. As there were no political parties, all of the fifty-plus candidates ran as independents. Voter turnout was 92.67%.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 14 November 1992. All candidates ran as independents. Following the elections, Bernard Dowiyogo was re-elected President by the Parliament by ten votes to seven.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 18 November 1995. A record 67 candidates contested the 18 seats. All candidates ran as independents. Following the election Lagumot Harris was elected President by the Parliament, defeating incumbent Bernard Dowiyogo, who had been accused of squandering millions of dollars of royalties from phosphate mining, by ten votes to seven.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 8 February 1997, following a series of no-confidence votes in the Presidency,. which had changed hands three times since the 1995 elections. All candidates ran as independents. Following the elections, Kinza Clodumar was elected president by the Parliament, which included four new members. Voter turnout was 91.8%.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 8 June 2013. After Parliament was dissolved on 1 March, the elections were set for 6 April. However, a Supreme Court ruling annulled the dissolution and cancelled the elections. Parliament was dissolved again on 23 May, approximately one month before the normal end of its mandate, and elections were set for 22 June 2013, however President Sprent Dabwido declared a state of emergency and brought the election forward to 8 June. Parliament first sat on June 11 and Fisheries Minister Baron Waqa, the leader of the government forces, was elected president.
Ruby Thoma, born Ruby Dediya in 1949 in Nauru, is a Nauruan politician.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 9 July 2016. Parliament was dissolved by President Baron Waqa on 10 June after it completed its three-year term. Speaker Ludwig Scotty called the elections for 9 July, with nominations taking place between 19 and 25 June.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 24 August 2019. President Baron Waqa lost his seat in Boe Constituency, making him ineligible for a third term. Following the elections, Lionel Aingimea was elected President, winning a parliamentary vote 12–6 against David Adeang.
Parliamentary elections were held in Nauru on 24 September 2022 to elect all 19 members of parliament. All candidates were elected on a non-partisan basis. Following the election, Russ Kun, a member of parliament for Ubenide, was elected president by parliament.
