General elections were held 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 ...

on 30 March 1983. The result was a victory for the

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 ...

(CIP) of

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 ...

, who became Prime Minister. However, the CIP lost their majority by the end of July, eventually resulting in Parliament being dissolved and new elections called in November 1983.

Electoral system

Previously the Legislative Assembly had 22 members elected from 12 constituencies of between one and four seats in size. Following constitutional reforms, the Assembly was renamed

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

and the number of members was increased to 24, with the country split into 23 single-member constituencies and an additional constituency for overseas voters.

Campaign

Campaigning was much milder than in 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 ...

, with the government – now controlled by the Democratic Party – having introduced limits on radio airtime and newspaper advertising by parties.Quiet election campaigning leads up to dramatic result
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', May 1983, p15

Results

Prime Minister Thomas Davis and Minister Iaveta Short both lost their seats.

Aftermath

Following the elections, Henry appointed a seven-member cabinet, including the first female minister, Fanaura Kingstone. Kingstone had been elected from the overseas constituency with the intention of resigning in protest at the creation of the constituency. However, she later changed her mind as the CIP failed to win a significant majority. Shortly after the elections, the Democratic Party MP for Atiu lost their seat after a successful petition against the result in the constituency, increasing the CIP majority to three. A court case also began as Henry had failed to resign from office within the first seven days of the parliamentary session and seek re-appointment, as required by the constitution. This was initially viewed as a technicality due to the CIP majority in Parliament. However, in July CIP MP Matapo Matapo died and Tupui Henry left the CIP to sit with the Democratic Party, leaving an 11–11 tie. The final verdict of the Court of Appeal was announced on 29 July, requiring Henry to resign. Without a majority, Henry resigned on 2 August. Queen's Representative

Gaven Donne Sir Gaven John Donne (8 May 1914 – 28 March 2010) was a New Zealand-born former Chief Justice of Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu. Biography Donne was born in Christchurch and educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School, H ...

convened a series of votes to determine who could attain a parliamentary majority, with the vote on 10 August ending as 11 each for Geoffrey and Tupui Henry. With the Atiu by-election – almost certain to be won by the Democratic Party – due on 12 August, Donne asked the two leaders to wait until the by-election for Matapo's seat before a government was appointed. Tupui Henry and Leader of the Opposition Vincent Ingram agreed in the belief that they could win Matapo's former constituency. However, Geoffrey Henry declined. This resulted in Donne dissolving Parliament on 17 August, calling fresh elections for November, and appointing Geoffrey Henry as caretaker Prime Minister with restricted powers.Cook Islands 1983: The year of voting repeatedly
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', October 1983, p18

References

External links

- one of the cases which led to parliament being dissolved. {{Cook Islands elections 1983 03 Cook 1983 in the Cook Islands Cook 1983 Cook