SYDNEY, Aug 15 (NNN-AAP) – Voters in Kiribati, yesterday, went to cast their ballots for the first round of voting, in the parliamentary election of the Pacific island country.
A total of 114 candidates compete in the first round of voting for 44 parliamentary seats, with a second round on Aug 19.
The Kiribati parliament has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term, in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies, and one as a non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fiji.
In the first round of voting, a candidate is elected, if receiving more than 50 percent of the ballots cast. A second round is held when not all seats are filled.
The new parliament will then nominate no more than four presidential candidates among its members.
The Kiribati president, who is both head of state and head of government, is to be elected in a presidential election by universal adult suffrage.
Taneti Maamau, the incumbent president, is again running for a parliamentary seat in the Onotoa constituency, according to a candidate list, published by the country’s Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs.
The national popular vote for the president of Kiribati is expected in Sept or Oct.– NNN-AAP
