March 2019 Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua by-election

March 2019 Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua by-election

18 March 2019
Constituency of Tengatangi–Areora–Ngatiarua
Turnout	99.2%
First party Second party   Ind. Candidate Te-Hani Brown Nandi Glassie Party Independent Democratic Popular vote 80 50 Percentage 61.54% 38.46%
MP before election Te-Hani Brown Democratic Elected MP Te-Hani Brown Independent

A by-election was held in the Cook Islands constituency of Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua on 18 March 2019.[1] The by-election was called following the defection of sitting MP Te-Hani Brown from the Democratic Party in January in order to support the government of Henry Puna, which triggered a by-election under election law.[2][3] Brown ran as an independent with the support of the Cook Islands Party against Nandi Glassie, whom Brown had beaten in the 2018 Cook Islands general election.[4]

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Te-Hani Brown	Independent	80	61.54
	Nandi Glassie	Democratic Party	50	38.46
Total			130	100.00
Source: [5]

Aftermath

Although Brown retained her seat, Glassie filed a petition against her victory. He alleged that she had effectively bribed voters by covering the charge of a private aircraft to carry voters to vote on Atiu; Brown maintained that this did not constitute an offence.[6] Brown resigned in April 2019 during the process of the petition through the courts and although Glassie was allowed to challenge the election result, this was reversed on appeal.[6][7] Brown's seat was declared vacant in September 2019, triggering another by-election.[8]

References

1. "PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 1 TENGATANGI-AREORA-NGATIARUA BY ELECTION 2019" (PDF). Government of the Cook Islands. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
2. "Te-Hani Brown wins Cook Islands by-election". Radio New Zealand. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
3. "Party hopping rules could affect Cooks MP's plans". Radio New Zealand. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
4. "Cook Islands Party will not contest Tengatangi-Areora-Ngatiarua by-election". Fiji Times. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
5. "The Cook Islands Gazette No. 15/2019" (PDF). Parliament of the Cook Islands. 21 March 2019.
6. "Cook Islands electoral petition decision reserved". Radio New Zealand. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
7. "Re-elected Cooks MP resigns during petition process". Radio New Zealand. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
8. "DECLARATION OF VACANT SEAT IN THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COOK ISLANDS" (PDF). Government of the Cook Islands. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.