The president of the Democratic Party in the Cook Islands says the party is waiting for the final election count before deciding what direction to take.
Preliminary results from last week's election have given the Cook Islands Party 15 seats, the ruling Democratic Party eight, while one seat is tied.
But final results will not be known until ballot boxes arrive from the northern group, which has been held up by a lack of fuel and shipping services there.
Democratic party president Sean Willis says the party's members have to ready themselves to be a strong and effective opposition.
He says the loss could be a good thing for the party as it will enable it to resurrect itself without MPs who would have created problems if the party had won and they weren't appointed to cabinet posts.
