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Nauru
At stake: Parliament
Background
Nauru is located halfway between Australia and Hawaii, and has a population of about 12,500 people. The country relies on Australia for aid and commerce, but was once the second wealthiest nation in the world due to royalties from phosphate mining.
Both the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United States have considered measures to deal with alleged money laundering activities in Nauru.
2003 Parliamentary Election
The Nauru First Party (NFP)—which promised a crackdown on corruption—elected three members to Parliament. In the 2000 elections, all 18 elected members were non-partisans.
The vote resulted in a political deadlock. Parliament was temporarily split between members backing three presidential candidates: former president Kinza Clodumar, leader of the NFP David Adeang, and independent Ludwig Scotty. With all three factions holding six votes, no side wanted to nominate a speaker, and thus lose a vote in the legislature. A speaker had to be named in order to select a president.
After three weeks of negotiations, Nauru First member Fabian Ribauw was elected speaker. Scotty then won the presidential challenge over Clodumar, with a 10-7 final vote.
René Harris, who had served as president on three previous occasions, took over from Scotty after a no-confidence vote on Aug. 8. Harris was responsible for Nauru's admission into the United Nations (UN) in 1999, as well as the country's Commonwealth membership.
Harris has been diagnosed with diabetes—a common ailment in Nauru—and receives dalysis treatments in Australia.
Political Players
President: René Harris
The president is elected for a three-year term by Parliament.
Legislative Branch: The Parliament has 18 members, elected to three-year terms in multi-seat constituencies.
Results of Last Election:
May 3, 2003 - Parliament
Seats | |
Nauru First Party (Naoero Amo) | 3 |
Non-partisans. | 15 |