2003 Niutao by-election

none 2003 Niutao by-election by-election Tuvalu One of the two Niutao seats in the Parliament of Tuvalu.Elected by simple majority using first past the post. Triggered by the death of the incumbent. no 2002 Tuvaluan general election 2002 2006 Tuvaluan general election 2006 5 May 2003 Taavau Teii 100px Independent (politician) unopposed n/a Saloa Tauia independent (politician) Taavau Teii independent (politician) Tuvalu center 200px 06 06 30 S 177 20 29 E Location of Niutao within Tuvalu A by-election was held in the Niutao constituency in Tuvalu on 5 May 2003. It was triggered by the death of the incumbent MP, Saloa Tauia. Tauia, the Speaker of Parliament, died in February, after having entered Parliament in the July 2002 general election. Paulson Panapa & Jon Fraenkel Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University The Loneliness of the Pro-Government Backbencher and the Precariousness of Simple Majority Rule in Tuvalu 2008 http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/08_02.pdf 11 April 2015 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211143/http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/08_02.pdf dead"Government Fate Hangs on by-election", Radio Australia, 6 May 2003 On the same day, the 2003 Nanumea by-election was also held, which following the annulment in February of incumbent MP Sio Patiale's election in the July 2002 general election. There are no political parties in Tuvalu, but Patiale and Tauia were both members of prime minister Saufatu Sopoanga's extremely narrow parliamentary majority. In the 2002 general election, Sopoanga had obtained the support of just 8 MPs (himself included) out of 15. His government thus needed to win both by-elections in order to retain its majority.https://archive.today/20130216230039/http://www.tuvaluislands.com/news/archived/2003/2003-04-PM.htm "Tuvalu Braces for a Possible Government Change", Pacific Magazine, April 2003 Niutao is a two-seat constituency, and in the 2002 general election it had returned Samuelu Teo and Saloa Tauia with 26.5% and 25.9% of the vote respectively, ahead of two other candidates."Preliminary Election Results - P.M. Talake Voted Out", Tuvalu Online, 26 July 2002 For the by-election, of course, only one seat would be provided for, Teo retaining the other. There was only one candidate to the by-election: Taavau Teii, who had come third in the constituency in the general election, with 24.56% of the vote. This time, he was thus elected unopposed. He had not indicated during his campaign whether he would side with the government or the opposition, and did not do so immediately after his election. Eventually, he joined the opposition, providing the latter with a one-seat majority in parliament; the Nanumea by-election had returned pro-government MP Sio Patiale to parliament. The opposition asked that parliament be recalled, so that a motion of no confidence in the government could be tabled. Sopoanga delayed recalling parliament until September,"Tuvalu PM Arranges for Recall of Parliament", Radio Australia, 26 August 2003 then appointed opposition MP Faimalaga Luka as governor general, depriving the opposition of its crucial one-seat majority and triggering the 2003 Nukufetau by-election. The winner of the October by-election, Elisala Pita, joined the government's benches, enabling it to survive a while longer."New Member of Parliament in Tuvalu", Radio Australia, 13 octobre 2003 The Sopoanga government was eventually brought down by an eight-to-six motion of no confidence in August 2004."Tuvalu PM loses vote of no-confidence", Agence France-Presse, 26 August 2004 Teii would go on to be appointed deputy prime minister under Apisai Ielemia after the 2006 general election, Tuvalu elects Apisai Ielemia as new prime minister Radio New Zealand 15 August 2006 http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/164041/tuvalu-elects-apisai-ielemia-as-new-prime-minister 5 April 2017 Tuvalu Islands Headline News, November 2007 and would hold that position until he lost his seat in parliament in the 2010 general election."Tuvalu PM, speaker retain seats as deputy PM crashes out", Radio Australia, 17 September 2010 Result Niutao by-election, 2003 Independent (politician) Taavau Teii 16px unopposed n/a n/a Independent (politician) Speaker n/a 2002 result 2002 general election: Results for Niutao Samuelu Teo 16px Independent (politician) 317 26.48 Saloa Tauia 16px Independent (politician) 310 25.90 Taavau Teii Independent (politician) 294 12.08 Tomu Sione Independent (politician) 276 23.06 References Category:2003 elections in Oceania Category:2003 in Tuvalu Category:By-elections to the Parliament of Tuvalu Category:Non-partisan elections Category:Unopposed by-elections Category:May 2003 in Oceania