Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nauru election returns previous parliament unchanged

Posted at 08:02 on 26 April, 2010 UTC

Preliminary results of Nauru’s election on Saturday show no change from the previous parliament.

Marcus Stephen Ludwig Scotty and David Adeang were among those who topped their constituencies under the preferential voting system.

The director of the government information office Joanna Olsson says results are due to be officially gazetted in time for tomorrow’s sitting of parliament, when a new speaker, deputy speaker and president are expected to be elected.

She says counting took longer than usual due to stringent checking procedures and a larger than expected number of voters polling in Ubenide.

“No change. Exactly the same 18 members we had in the last parliament they’ve all gotten back in. Probably the numbers, the margins probably vary a little but its exactly the same members.”

Joanna Olsson says a team from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, headed by Fiji lawyer, Walter Rigamoto, observed Saturday’s election.