1978 Gilbertese parliamentary election

none Parliamentary elections were held in the Gilbert Islands on 1 February 1978, with a second round on 6 February.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p679 0-19-924959-8 Electoral system The recommendations of the 1977 constitutional convention on a proposed electoral system were introduced prior to the 1978 elections. There were to be 35 members of the House of Assembly, who would be elected from 13 single-member constituencies, 8 two-member constituencies, and 2 three-member constituencies. The three-member constituencies covered South Tarawa, the capital and home to nearly one-third of the entire population of 56,000. For the first time, Christmas, Fanning and Washington Islands, as well as Banaba, each returned one member from their populations of migrant workers and their families. The 35 members of the House of Assembly were elected from 23 constituencies (with each island forming a constituency) using the two-round system; if no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round was held within seven days.Gilbertese at the polls Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1978, p5 Campaign All candidates for the 35 seats ran as independents. In three constituencies (two seats on Beru, one on Arorae) the candidates were returned unopposed.Barrie Macdonald, (1983) Elections in Kiribati Political Science, volume 35, number 1, pp58–70 Results Independents 35 14715 289 18523 Nohlen et al. Elected members ConstituencyMemberAbaiangTaniera KautoaTeatao TeannakiAbemamaTeewe ArobatiTekinaiti KaiteieAranukaIoane BennaAroraeTeeta IoranBanabaTabuarorae TanieraBeruOtiuea TanentoaTaomati IutaBetioBwebwentaratai BensonTeburea T. BakaotiRoniti TeiwakiButaritariIeremia TataToanimatang TeraoiFanning IslandWillie Yee-OnChristmas IslandMoiaua ToaririKuriaTetimra TaieMaianaBwebwetake AreietaMakinBinata TetaekaMarakeiNaboua RatietaTabeata TamaitiNikunauTiwau AwiraNonoutiEtekia BatiuaIeremia TabaiNorth Tarawa(Rural Tarawa)Tenanoa KanonoTeweia UarutaOnotoaBabera KirataSouth Tarawa(Urban Tarawa)Abete MerangKarawaiti TaraiaToia TaruruTabiteuea NorthBaraniko RaabaLeo T. UbaitoiTabiteuea SouthTeitintau TeitiauaTamanaBoanareke BoanarekeWashington IslandTetaake EriaSource: Parliament of Kiribati Aftermath An election for Chief Minister was held on 17 March between Ieremia Tabai, Roniti Teiwaki, Babera Kirata and Taomati Iuta. After Tabai won with 56% of the vote, he appointed a cabinet with Teewe Arobati as Minister for the Line and Phoenix Group, Tiwau Awira as Minister for Finance, Iuta as Minister for Trade, Industry and Labour, Kirata as Minister for Works and Communications, Abete Merang as Minister Health and Community Affairs, Ieremia Tata as Minister for Education, Training and Culture, Teatao Teannaki as Minister for Home Affairs and Teiwaki as Minister for Natural Resource Development. Following independence, Tabai became president, with Teannaki as vice-president.Historical Information on Members of the Parliament of Kiribati Parliament of Kiribati References Gilbert Islands Parliamentary Category:Parliamentary elections in Kiribati Category:Non-partisan elections