Presidential elections were held in

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

on 22 June 2020, following

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in April. Incumbent President

Taneti Maamau Taneti Maamau (born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the fifth president of Kiribati since 2016. A member of the Tobwaan Kiribati Party, his policies are targeted at strengthening Kiribati's weak economy and alle ...

of the

Tobwaan Kiribati Party The Tobwaan Kiribati Party (, TKP) is a political party in Kiribati. History The party was established in January 2016 as a merger of the Maurin Kiribati Party and the United Coalition Party. The two parties had won 19 of the 44 elected seats i ...

was re-elected with 59% of the vote.

Campaign

Relations with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

was the main issue during the elections, with Maamau having switched Kiribati's recognition to China from Taiwan, while Berina seen as more sympathetic toward Taiwan. The elections were seen by many as a critical test for the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

's expansionist foreign policy.

Results

The results were declared on 23 June 2020 by Chief Justice John Muria at the Ministry of Justice headquarters in

South Tarawa South Tarawa () is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki and Tanaea in the n ...

. Maamau won the election with 59% of the vote, receiving a majority in 16 of the 23 constituencies, while Berina finished first in seven constituencies.

By electoral district

References

{{Kiribatian elections

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

Presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

Presidential elections in Kiribati