31 Oct 2011

Christmas Islanders to vote again on Thursday in Kiribati election

10:45 am on 31 October 2011

Christmas Islanders are being asked to turn up to polling booths again this Thursday after a tie between two candidates in the second round of voting in the Kiribati elections.

Kiribati's chief electoral officer, Rine Uera, says all other results have been finalised.

She says eleven new MPs have been elected, about a quarter of the legislature.

Maere Tekanene was the only woman MP to be elected in the second round, bringing the number of successful women candidates to three.

Ms Uera says voter turnout was higher in the second round of voting.

"In the first round they were not interested because there were so many candidates who contested. But in the second roudn there was a screened number so it was a small number so they were more interested to select maybe their own candidates. That always happens."

Kiribati's chief electoral officer, Rine Uera