Sydney, October 25 (IANS). Voters in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati cast their ballots on Friday for the country’s presidential election. Current President Taneti Mamau is in the race to become president for the third time.
Voting began at 7 a.m. local time and will end at 6 p.m., Xinhua news agency quoted the country’s Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs as saying.
Voters will elect a new president from three candidates, Maamau, Boutatake Béia and Kaotitake Kokoria.
The three candidates were selected by Members of Parliament in September. All three are from the ruling Tobwan Kiribati party.
However, Radio New Zealand reported on Friday that Kokoria had broken with the ruling party to form her own coalition.
In Kiribati the new President is elected by suffrage in presidential elections from among three or four candidates nominated by members of the new Parliament.
Parliamentary elections were held in Kiribati in August, and the current ruling Tobvan Kiribati Party won a landslide majority, winning 30 of the 45 seats in the new parliament.
The first meeting of the new parliament on 13 September elected four presidential candidates, all from the Tobwan Kiribati Party. One of them withdrew his name from the race.
Mamau first became president in March 2016 and was re-elected in June 2020.
–IANS
AKS/AKJ
