By Tiana Haxton of RNZ Pacific
Preliminary results are starting to come in for the Cook Islands general election.
As of 10pm local time, preliminary results indicated the incumbent Prime Minister and Cook Islands Party leader Mark Brown had easily won the Takuvaine-Tutakimoa seat.
Brown had 269 votes, while the next best placed was Davina Hina Te Raurea Joan Hosking-Ashford of the Democratic Party with 103.
In other preliminary results for leaders of the main parties, Teariki Heather, the leader of the United Party won the Murienua seat with 320 votes, more than double that of the second placed Cook Islands Party candidate, Nooroa Baker.
In an upset, the Democratic Party leader Tina Browne — the opposition leader in the past term — has lost Rakahanga by just three votes to Levi Hitarahera Teinaki of the Cook Islands Party who had 24 votes.
There are 11,000 registered voters in the Cooks, and voting stations opened at 9am on Wednesday morning, Cook Islands time (11am Thursday NZT) and closed at 6pm.
There are 24 constituencies in the Cooks, 10 on the main island of Rarotonga, and the other 14 spread across the Pa Enua, or outer islands. Thirteen seats are needed for a majority to form a government.
A total of 63 candidates were confirmed for the 2026 general election, down from the 71 who contested the 2022 election. This year’s lineup includes 49 men and 14 women.
Weather delays Northern Cooks poll
With independents making up 20 per cent of candidates, should no party claim the 13 seats needed for majority, the independents could hold the power over who forms government.
There has been a delay in the Northern Cooks, as bad weather meant electoral officers were unable to get ashore in Nassau.
Officials have announced the island’s polling will be postponed to Thursday afternoon local time.
Issues front-of-mind for voters included the cost of living, water tariffs, seabed minerals and foreign relationships.
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