Islands Business - Politics/Cook Islands: TWISTS AND TURNS IN THE COOKS VOTE

Results in the hands of judges

Nina Ratulele
A month can definitely be a long time in Cook Islands politics. Jim Marurai, the popular Prime Minister, and the governing Democratic Party have been discovering that.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Jim Marurai... arrives back at Rarotonga International Airport after easily retaining his seat on the southern island of Mangaia. (Pic: Cook Islands Herald)

After the general election on September 26, the Democratic Party looked to be sweeping to the two-thirds parliamentary majority it needed to push through its political reform programme.

Marurai had returned to Rarotonga, smiling, on a plane from his home island of Mangaia, to the south. The Democratic Party was triumphant.

The opposition Cook Islands Party was despondent and seemed to be heading for disarray. Both its leader, Henry Puna, and deputy leader, Tupou Faireka, were amongst losing candidates. But by mid-October the mood in the Cook Islands Party was becoming more upbeat and it was regrouping. It could see a possible—just possible—weakening of the Democratic Party’s grip on government.

Meanwhile, the office of the Democratic Party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Terepai Maoate, was issuing increasingly shrill statements attacking the Opposition’s tactics.

The statements seemingly reflected worries in the Democratic Party camp.

The reason for all this was court petitions lodged by the Cook Islands Party. They alleged irregularities in seven of the seats the Democratic Party had won, and sought to have the results overturned.

The Democratic Party had in turn lodged one petition against a Cook Islands Party win.

The barrage of petitions came with the Democratic Party holding a 15-8 winning margin, with one more seat tied and due to be decided in a by-election. If the Cook Islands Party won just over half the petitions, everything could change.

As ISLANDS BUSINESS went to press the petitions were still before the courts and the 24-member Parliament on Rarotonga was unable to sit because of this. The petitions alleged a range of activities designed to unlawfully influence results.

Cook Islands Party lawyers, leader Puna and MP Norman George were specially hopeful of winning the seat the Democratic Party retained on Aitutaki.

This petition alleged the Democratic Party promoted backbencher Kete Ioane to minister immediately before the election purely to provide him extra campaign money. This, it was alleged, was done to help him fight off a strong challenge he faced from media businessman and church pastor, George Pitt.

During the campaign, the Cook Islands Party alleged abuse of office by the Democratic Party-led government. It also questioned whether Maoate, a veteran former prime minister, would try to take over from Marurai as prime minister if the Democratic Party won.

The Opposition was especially angered by the way Parliament was abruptly dissolved in July, two years early, at Marurai’s request and on the eve of the Budget vote. This was after by-election wins meant the Cook Islands Party had the numbers to defeat the government in Parliament.

The Democratic Party campaigning stressed its plans to reform politics for the better and the strength of leadership by Marurai and Maoate. It pledged to outlaw party hopping by MPs which had led to frequent changes of government in recent times and instability.

But some local political commentators said the real election difference in the end was former secondary school principal Marurai and the strong personal support he gets from many voters.

Marurai, a graduate of Otago University in New Zealand, is a prime minister who does things like drive his own car to the airport and pays to park with everyone else.

The Cook Islands Herald newspaper calls Marurai, aged in his late 50s, a humble “Abe Lincoln like” leader. This is because of his hard working and honest ways.

In the end, as a new month neared, there was a possibility that could all perhaps count for nothing. The final election result was now in the hands of judges brought in from New Zealand to decide on the petitions.