1998 Kiribati presidential election

1998 Kiribati presidential election

←  1994 27 November 1998 Feb 2003  →

Candidate Teburoro Tito Harry Tong Popular vote 13,309 11,658 Percentage 52.33% 45.84% Home island Tabiteuea Tabuaeran

President before election Teburoro Tito Elected President Teburoro Tito

Presidential elections were held in Kiribati on 27 November 1998. Incumbent president Teburoro Tito was reelected with 52.33 percent of the vote, defeating challengers Harry Tong and Amberoti Nikora.

Background and campaign

Deputy opposition leader Teburoro Tito, who had previously served as opposition leader, was elected President of Kiribati in the 1994 presidential election ^[1] as a member of the Christian Democratic Party. ^[2] His government and the opposition both lost seats in the House of Assembly during the September 1998 parliamentary elections. ^[3]

The candidates were chosen by the House of Assembly, voting on which three of its members would appear on the ballot. It selected Tito, Harry Tong, and Amberoti Nikora. ^[2]

Results

The presidential election was held on 27 November. ^[4] Tito was reelected with 52.33 percent of the vote. ^[5] It was the second election, following the one of 1994, in which the vote difference of the winner and the runner up was greater than the combined votes of other candidates. ^[2]

Candidate	Votes	%
Teburoro Tito	13,309	52.33
Harry Tong	11,658	45.84
Amberoti Nikora	465	1.83
Total	25,432	100.00
Source: Somoza [6]

Aftermath

Tito was reelected again in the February 2003 presidential election, but his government was dissolved the following month through a motion of no confidence. He was succeeded by Anote Tong. ^[2]

Notes

1. East & Thomas 2003, p. 274.
2. Edge, Corrin & de Than 2019, p. 5.
3. East & Thomas 2003, p. 275.
4. Somoza 2001, p. 679.
5. Somoza 2001, pp. 682–683.
6. Somoza 2001, p. 682.

References

• East, Roger; Thomas, Richard J. (2003). Profiles of People in Power. Routledge. ISBN   9781315759517.
• Edge, Peter; Corrin, Jennifer; de Than, Claire (2019). The Appointment and Removal of the Head of Government of the Kiribati Republic (Report). Oxford Brookes University. doi:10.24384/zw43-2s19.
• Somoza, Alexander (2001). "Kiribati" . In Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (eds.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. Oxford University Press. pp. 673–686. ISBN   9780191600012.