| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
8 June 2013 |
| Purpose of elections |
The elections to the 19-member Parliament (up from 18) returned 12 outgoing members. There were a record 68 candidates. One of the five women candidates was successful and became the second-ever Nauruan woman to enter Parliament. The newly-elected legislature was convened on 11 June and elected former Speaker and President of the Republic, Mr. Ludwig Scotty, as the new, and Mr. Baron Waqa as the country's new President. The latter had served as Minister of the Interior and Education under Mr. Scotty's presidency.
The 2013 elections followed a political wrangle over the elections date. They were initially called for 6 April after Speaker Scotty dissolved Parliament on 1 March. A group of MPs challenged the legality of the dissolution, and on 15 March, the Supreme Court ruled the dissolution null and void. Mr. Scotty resigned as Speaker on 18 April and was succeeded by Mr. Godfrey Thoma. However, half the members including President Sprent Dabwido - continued to call for new elections and refused to attend parliamentary sessions, meaning that parliament lacked quorum and could not debate a dissolution motion. On 23 May, the Speaker dissolved Parliament and set the elections for 22 June. But on 27 May President Dabwido declared a state of emergency, dismissed the Speaker and Deputy Speaker Landon Deireragea, and moved the elections up to 8 June. He argued that later dissolution of Parliament would threaten the country's economic security. |
Date of previous elections: 19 June 2010
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 28 May 2013
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: June 2016
Number of seats at stake: 19 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 68 (63 men, 5 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 7.4%
Number of parties contesting the election: Not applicable (there are no political)
Number of parties winning seats: Not applicable.
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: Not applicable.
Names of parties in government: Not applicable.
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 11 June 2013
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Ludwig Scotty |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 8 June 2013 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'528
5'349 (96.76%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
18
1
5.26%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
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Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
