| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Palamene / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
16 September 2010 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 13 August 2010, parliament was dissolved in view of general elections set for 16 September.
Following the previous elections held in August 2006, parliament elected Mr. Apisai Ielemia as Prime Minister. He subsequently formed an eight-member cabinet. Under his administration, the country of 11,000 inhabitants enjoyed political stability.
In the 2010 elections, 26 candidates, including all outgoing members, were vying for the 15 seats in parliament. Since there are no political parties in Tuvalu, all candidates ran as independents.
A number of senior government officials resigned to contest the elections. They included Mr. Enele Sopoaga, a former Tuvalu Ambassador to the United Nations who attracted worldwide attention during the UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in 2009. He proposed amending the UN climate treaty to require all countries to keep the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a proposal subsequently rejected. Most of Tuvalu's main islet is only 1m above high tide. With the sea level rising at a rate of 5.7mm per year, Tuvalu risks becoming uninhabitable by the end of century.
Many candidates focused on climate change issues. Prime Minister Ielemia ran on the government's record and called on voters' support to be able to continue the development projects he had started.
Turnout was reportedly high among the 6,000 registered voters.
Ten of the 15 outgoing members were re-elected. Most cabinet members were re-elected while Deputy Prime Minister Tavau Teii lost his seat. Speaker Kamuta Latasi retained his seat. Mr. Sopoaga entered parliament for the first time. As in the previous elections, no women were elected.
On 29 September, parliament held its first session and elected Mr. Isaia Taeia Italeli, the younger brother of the Governor General, Iakopa Taeia Italeli, as its new Speaker. It elected Mr. Maatia Toafa as Prime Minister, a post he had held from 2004 to 2006. He was backed by five new members and three members that had supported the former government. Mr. Sopoaga became Foreign Minister.
On 15 December, Prime Minister Toafa lost a motion of no-confidence only after three months in office. Prior to the vote, his Home Minister, Mr. Willie Telavi, had withdrawn support from the government, citing a row over financial policies. On 25 December 2010, Mr. Telavi was elected new Prime Minister by eight to seven votes, winning over outgoing foreign minister Sopoaga. Mr. Kamuta Latasi, former Speaker until the 2010 elections, became Speaker again. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 16 September 2010 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
6'008
|
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Notes
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| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
15
0
0.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
Source: Parliament (05.10.2010)
Tuvalu has no party system.
Note on the distribution of seats according to sex:
No women were elected in the general elections held in September 2010. In the by-elections held in August 2011, Ms. Pelenike Isaia, the widow of an MP who had passed away the previous month, was elected, becoming the second woman to enter Parliament of Tuvalu. |
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