General elections were held in

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

on 8 September 1981.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p829 Voter turnout was 85%.

Campaign

A total of 26 candidates contested the 12 seats. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents. In

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a po ...

one candidate, Telavi Faati, called for the island be independent.

Results

Eight of the twelve incumbent MPs retained their seats, with two ministers losing theirs.

Aftermath

Tomasi Puapua was elected Prime Minister with a 7–5 majority over the group a members of parliament headed by former Prime Minister Toaripi Lauti. Puapua appointed a five-member cabinet, keeping the portfolios of foreign affairs and local government for himself.

Henry Naisali Henry Faati Naisali (7 December 1928 – 20 October 2004) was a Tuvaluan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu (1985-1989), Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (1988-1992) and Pro-Chancellor of The University of t ...

became Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, Lale Seluka was appointed Minister for Commerce and Natural Resources, Falaile Pilitati became Minister for Social Services and Solomona Tealofi was appointed Minister for Works and Communications.

References

{{Tuvaluan elections

Elections in Tuvalu

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results