The Cook Islands First Party (originally known as the Demo Tumu Party, translatable as "Original/True Democratic Party") was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

. The party was originally a faction within the Cook Islands Democratic Party which supported

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Robert Woonton Robert Woonton (born 1949) is a Cook Islands politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 11 February 2002 until 11 December 2004, and later as High Commissioner to New Zealand. He was a member of the centrist Dem ...

over

Terepai Maoate Sir Terepai Tuamure Maoate (1 September 1934 – 9 July 2012) was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 18 November 1999 to 11 February 2002. He was a member of the Cook Islands Democratic Party. Maoate was born in Rarotonga on 1 September ...

. The 2004 elections saw the Democrats win a clear majority, but it was not clear whether Woonton would have the numbers within the party to remain Prime Minister. Woonton's announcement on 15 November 2004 that he was forming a coalition with the rival

Cook Islands Party The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes ...

with himself as Prime Minister. This touched off a bitter struggle within the Democrats, which ultimately saw Woonton and his Health Minister

Peri Vaevae Pare Peri Vaevae Pare (died 27 May 2020) was a Cook Islands politician and Cabinet Minister. He was stripped of his seat in Parliament after being convicted of corruption in 2005. Biography Pare was the brother of musician Noo Pare and would often h ...

expelled from the party. Woonton responded by launching his own party, the Demo Tumu Party, on 1 December 2004. Initially the party consisted of 4 MPs: Woonton, Pare, then-education minister Jim Marurai and Democratic backbenchers Teenui Mapumai and

Poko Simpson Poko may refer to: *Poko, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a town *Poko people of Transvaal, South Africa *Poko (TV series), a Canadian children's television series *Poko Mountain, a mountain in Alaska *Poko Rekords, a Finnish former record label ...

. The party maintained its coalition agreement with the Cook Islands Party and the support of independent MP

Piho Rua Piho Rua (born 15 November 1954) is a Cook Islands politician and former member of the Cook Islands Parliament. Rua was born on Rakahanga and educated at Aitutaki Junior High School and Tereora College. He had a twenty-year career as a police of ...

, and Woonton remained Prime Minister. Woonton subsequently resigned his seat in order to fight a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

, causing his government to be dissolved. The coalition held, with Woonton's deputy Jim Marurai replacing him as Prime Minister as part of a deal which would see CIP leader

Geoffrey Henry Sir Geoffrey Arama Henry (16 November 1940 – 9 May 2012) was a Cook Island politician who was twice the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He was leader of the Cook Islands Party (CIP) from 1979 to 2006. Early life Henry was a native of ...

replace him after two years. The coalition deal was dissolved in September 2005, and the party, now calling itself "Cook Islands First," formed a new coalition with the Democrats. The parties re-united shortly before the

2006 election The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential ...

, and the party is now defunct.

References

{{Cook Islands political parties Political parties established in 2004 Defunct political parties in the Cook Islands *Main