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All 24 seats in Parliament 13 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 1 August 2022. [1] [2] A referendum on legalising medical cannabis was held on the same day. [3]
In the 2018 general election, the Democratic Party won a plurality with 11 seats but fell short of the 13 required to form a government. The incumbent Cook Islands Party (CIP), led by then-prime minister Henry Puna won 10 seats; the One Cook Islands Movement (OCI) secured a single seat, and independents won the remaining two. [4] The CIP remained in government due to the support of the OCI and independents. [5]
In October 2020, Puna resigned as prime minister to run for secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. Deputy prime minister Mark Brown succeeded Puna as prime minister and leader of the Cook Islands Party. Brown appointed Robert Tapaitau deputy prime minister. [6]
The 24 members of the Parliament of the Cook Islands were elected from single-member electorates by first-past-the-post voting. [7]
The Progressive Party of the Cook Islands was launched in October 2019 to contest the election. [8]
The One Cook Islands Movement (OCI) announced its candidates in November 2021. [9] However, they caused controversy by claiming Toanui Isamaela and Teina Bishop would stand as joint OCI–Democratic Party candidates; this was denied by the Democratic Party, which stated it would be announcing its own candidates and there was no alliance with the OCI. [10]
In December 2021 the new Cook Islands United Party, founded by former Deputy Prime Minister Teariki Heather in 2018, announced eleven candidates for the elections. [11]
| Pollster | Date | Sample size | Brown | Browne | Heather | Others | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Islands News [12] | July 2022 | 120 | 44.2% | 10.8% | 16.7% | 14.2% | 8.3% |
Initial projections showed the Cook Islands Party with 10 seats, the Democrats with 6, the new Cook Islands United Party with 4, and independents with 3. The seat of Ngatangiia was tied, with the CIP and United candidates on 171 votes each. [13] The final vote count showed the CIP with 12 seats, after it won Ngatangiia and Titikaveka, where the United Party candidate originally had had a six vote lead. [14] The Democrats won five seats, United three, the One Cook Islands Movement one and independents three.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
| Cook Islands Party | 3,890 | 44.07 | +1.77 | 12 | +2 | |
| Democratic Party | 2,377 | 26.93 | -14.98 | 5 | –6 | |
| Cook Islands United Party | 1,660 | 18.81 | New | 3 | New | |
| One Cook Islands Movement | 237 | 2.68 | -8.13 | 1 | 0 | |
| Progressive Party of the Cook Islands | 18 | 0.20 | New | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 645 | 7.31 | +3.54 | 3 | +1 | |
| Total | 8,827 | 100.00 | – | 24 | 0 | |
| Source: Parliament of the Cook Islands [15] | ||||||
The CIP began coalition talks on 4 August, and announced that it planned to continue its arrangements with two independents. [16] The United Party ruled out working with the CIP. [16] On 5 August the CIP announced they had secured the support of independents Te-Hani Brown and Rose Toki-Brown for a governing coalition. [17] On 12 August Mark Brown was reappointed Prime Minister. [18] [19] On 25 August 2022 independent MP Stephen Matapo joined the Cook Islands Party, giving the government a total of 15 seats. [20] [21]
Following the election, electoral petitions were filed challenging the results in Mitiaro, Tengatangi–Areora–Ngatiarua, Teenui–Mapumai, Titikaveka and Amuri–Ureia, as well as an application for a recount in Tupapa–Maraerenga. [22] [23] Due to the time taken to resolve the petitions, the Cook Islands Parliament did not sit for the rest of the year, and will not sit until at least March 2023. [24]
The final electoral petition was not resolved until 11 March 2023, when the High Court confirmed that Sonny Williams had won the seat of Titikaveka. [25] Parliament sat for the first time and new MPs were sworn in on 21 March 2023. [26]
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the King or Queen's Representative, was the Head of State; the prime minister is the head of government of a multi-party system. The nation is self-governing and are fully responsible for internal and foreign affairs. Since 2001, the Cook Islands has run its own foreign and defence policy. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislatures.
The Cook Islands elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of the Cook Islands has 24 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies. The Cook Islands has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties and it is extremely difficult for any other party to achieve electoral success.
The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 7 September 2004. Initial results showed the Democratic Party winning by a wide margin, but close results led to 11 electoral petitions being filed, delaying the date Parliament could sit until mid-December. In the interim, Prime Minister Robert Woonton announced that he was forming a coalition government with the rival Cook Islands Party. This led to a split within the Democrats, with Woonton and four other MPs leaving to form the Demo Tumu Party. With 14 MPs, the coalition had a comfortable majority in Parliament.
Norman George is a Cook Islands politician and former Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, and Cabinet Minister.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 30 March 1983. The result was a victory for the Cook Islands Party (CIP) of Geoffrey Henry, who became prime minister. However, the CIP lost their majority by the end of July, eventually resulting in Parliament being dissolved and new elections called in November 1983.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 2 November 1983. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party, which won 13 of the 24 seats. A coalition government was formed with the opposition Cook Islands Party, with Democratic Party leader Thomas Davis as prime minister and CIP leader Geoffrey Henry as deputy prime minister. Henry was later replaced with Terepai Maoate.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 17 November 2010 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party, which won 16 of the 24 seats. Voter turnout was 78%.
Robert George Wigmore was leader of the Cook Islands Democratic Party from 2010 – 2012, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 2009 to 2010. He served as a Minister in the Cabinets of Robert Woonton and Jim Marurai.
Sir Tom John Marsters, is the current King's Representative to the Cook Islands. He is a former Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Foreign Minister, and Deputy Leader of the Cook Islands Party.
Henry Tuakeu Puna is a Cook Islands politician. He most recently served as the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum from May of 2021 to 2024. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of the Cook Islands Party.
The 15th Cook Islands Parliament is the previous term of the Parliament of the Cook Islands. Its composition was determined by the 2010 elections on 17 November 2010.
Mark Stephen Brown is a Cook Islands politician and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He had previously served as Deputy Prime Minister under Henry Puna. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 9 July 2014, determining the membership of the 16th Cook Islands Parliament.
Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown is a Cook Islands politician, and Cabinet Minister. In July 2016 she became the Cook Islands' first female Leader of the Opposition.
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 14 June 2018 to elect the 24 members of the 17th Cook Islands Parliament.
Te-Hani Rose Alexandra Brown is a Cook Islands politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is an independent.
Robert Taimoe Tapaitau is a former Cook Islands politician, Cabinet Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands who was convicted of fraud and jailed in 2024. He is the son of former Democratic party cabinet minister Tepure Tapaitau.
Tekaotiki Matapo is a Cook Islands former politician, Cabinet Minister, and diplomat. He is currently president of the Cook Islands Party.
Akaitiiti O Te Rangi Puna is a Cook Islands politician and member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is a member of the Cook Islands Party. She is married to the former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna and the sister of MP Tukaka Ama.
