The Cook Islands Party is a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

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. 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 participated in coalition governments. In the

2006 elections 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 presidenti ...

, it came runner-up and largest opposition party in the islands. The party won both the 2010 and 2014 elections and currently forms the government. As a result of the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

, it is the second largest party in the Cook Islands Parliament. The leader of the party is the

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 ...

Mark Brown.

History

The Cook Islands Party was established on 15 June 1964 by Albert Henry, a former leader of the Cook Islands Progressive Association, who had agitated for greater self-rule in the 1940s. The party was founded on a platform of economic development, maintaining ties with

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, the protection of traditional Cook Islands culture and increased recognition of traditional titles. Within a month of foundation, the party had gained over 2,000 members on Rarotonga. Prior to independence, the party campaigned for the residential qualification for candidates to the Legislative Assembly to be reduced, in order to allow Henry to stand. They were unsuccessful, and as a result Henry was replaced at the 1965 elections by his sister, Marguerite Story. The party won a strong majority of 14 seats, which they used to amend the constitution to reduce the residency requirement. Following the passage of the necessary legislation by the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is u ...

, Story resigned. Henry was elected in the subsequent

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 ...

, and became the first Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. The party dominated Islands politics for the next decade, but lost power at the

1978 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1978. Africa * 1978 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1978 Comorian legislative election * 1978 Comorian presidential election * 1978 Egyptian protection of national unity and social peace refer ...

after it was discovered to have engaged in widespread electoral fraud. Albert Henry resigned as party leader, and was replaced by his cousin Geoffrey Henry. He was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public money and stripped of his knighthood. The party spent the next decade in opposition, then held power again between 1989 and 1999. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes participated in coalition governments. It won 10 seats in the 1999 elections and 9 seats in the 2004 elections. In 2006 it replaced its long-time leader, Geoffrey Henry, with Henry Puna, but Puna was defeated in the parliamentary elections several months later along with the deputy leader. While he remained the party's leader, the Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition was Tom Marsters. At the 26 September 2006 elections, the party won 45.3% of the popular vote and 7 out of 24 seats, making it is the largest opposition party. In July 2010 following a dispute about candidate selection, Avatiu/Ruatonga MP

Albert (Peto) Nicholas Albert (Peto) Nicholas (9 May 1951 – 15 August 2012) was a Cook Islands politician. He was member of the Cook Islands Parliament for the seat of the seat of Avatiu/Ruatonga for 18 years. Nicholas was born on Rarotonga and educated at St Jos ...

left the party and founded the Party Tumu. The breakaway party attracted the support of influential CIP backer Tupui Ariki Henry, son of CIP founder and former Prime Minister Albert Henry. CIP won the 2010 and 2014 elections, leading to two terms as Prime Minister for Henry Puna. The

2018 election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

resulted in a hung parliament.

Electoral performance

Legislative Assembly

Leaders

# Albert Henry (1964–1979) # Geoffrey Henry (1979–2006) # Henry Puna (2006–2020) # Mark Brown (2020-current)

References

External links