General Fono – Asia Pacific Report https://asiapacificreport.nz Independent Asia Pacific news and analysis Fri, 27 Jan 2023 08:55:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Tokelau declares 2023 elections result in spite of comms problems https://asiapacificreport.nz/2023/01/27/tokelau-declares-2023-elections-result-in-spite-of-comms-problems/ Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:11:59 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=83592 By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

The government of Tokelau has declared the results of the 2023 national general elections.

Voting took place on all three atolls, and also in the Apia office of the administration on January 23.

The final results for the election of 20 members of the General Fono, declared under 16.1 (b) of the Tokelau National Election Rules of 2022, are as follows:

Results of the 2023 Tokelau national general elections
Final Tokelau 2023 general election results. Image: Tokelau govt

Vote counting was challenging due to poor internet connectivity. The phone tower has also been playing up.

A government spokesperson said the election team was crowding around printers late on Thursday night waiting for votes to come through one by one.

RNZ Pacific has been told there was a “real buzz about Nukunonu”, the largest atoll in Tokelau on national election day – 30 people voted from home, including elderly.

Tokelau is a realm nation of New Zealand and also has an Administrator but the New Zealand government says it respects the traditional governance structures that are “integral to community life in Tokelau”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

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