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Presidential elections were held in Kiribati on 13 January 2012, [1] following two-round parliamentary elections held in October 2011. Incumbent President Anote Tong sought re-election to a third four-year term, ending months of speculation about his decision. [2] [3]
Tong beat Tetaua Taitai of the United Coalition Party and Rimeta Beniamina of the Maurin Kiribati Party with a little over 42% of the vote. [4]
The elections, initially scheduled for 30 December 2011, were postponed to 13 January 2012 in order to allow citizens of the country to travel to celebrate the New Year. [5]
The president was elected by popular vote from among three or four candidates chosen by MPs, and was limited to three four-year terms under the constitution. [6]
The new House of Assembly of Kiribati nominated three candidates for the presidency following the 2011 parliamentary election. [6]
Incumbent President Anote Tong was the outright winner and re-elected as president of Kiribati, with an aggregate total of 14,315 votes or 42% of the total vote. [4] President Tong defeated his closest challenger, Tetaui Taitai, by more than 7%, or 2,500 votes. [4] The third challenger, Rimeta Beniamina, only received 7,738 votes. Tong was the leading candidate in 14 out of the 23 constituencies. [7] [8]
President Tong's percentage of the vote (42%) was much less than his 2007 re-election, when he received 64% of the popular vote. [4]
Voter turnout was approximately 68% for the election. [7] This was higher than the 2007 presidential elections, when voter participation was a little over 50%. [4]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anote Tong | Pillars of Truth | 14,315 | 42.18 | |
| Tetaua Taitai | United Coalition Party | 11,886 | 35.02 | |
| Rimeta Beniamina | Maurin Kiribati Party | 7,738 | 22.80 | |
| Total | 33,939 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 49,910 | – | ||
| Source: IFES | ||||
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