Elections in Nauru
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{{Politics of Nauru}}
Nauru elects on a national level a head of state (the president) and a legislature. Parliament has 19 members (increased from 18 for the 2013 election), elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies.{{cite web|title=Who comprises Parliament? - The Government of the Republic of Nauru|url=http://www.naurugov.nr/parliament-of-nauru/about-parliament/who-comprises-parliament.aspx|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824210905/http://www.naurugov.nr/parliament-of-nauru/about-parliament/who-comprises-parliament.aspx|archive-date=24 August 2019|url-status=dead}} The president is elected for a three-year term by the parliament.
However, there are frequent changes of government in Nauru which occur without an election;{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} most recently, in October 2023, when David Adeang was elected as the new President of Nauru following a no-confidence vote for Russ Kun.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-30 |title=David Adeang elected as the new President of Nauru |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/501301/david-adeang-elected-as-the-new-president-of-nauru |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}
Voting system
The 19 seat members of the Parliament of Nauru are elected through the Dowdall System, a decimalised modification of a preferential Borda count. The voter must rank all candidates in order of preference (see preferential voting). Each vote is then counted using the formula 1/n, according to ranking order. For example, a candidate ranked first receives one point, the second candidate receives half a point, the third candidate receives a third of a point, and so on. Each legal vote is aggregated in order to determine a decimal score for each candidate.{{cite web|title=Nauru|url=http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=150|work=Electionguide.org|access-date=13 December 2011}} For example, in the June 2010 Nauruan parliamentary election the then president Marcus Stephen regained his Anetan Constituency seat after receiving 349.617 decimal votes from a total of 630 votes.
Voter eligibility and election administration
The voting age in Nauru, as specified by the Article 29 of the Constitution, is 20 years old.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://aceproject.org/electoral-advice/archive/questions/CDCountry?set_language=en&topic=VR&country=NR|title=Nauru|publisher=ACE Electoral Knowledge Network|date=2019|accessdate=30 September 2023}} Voting is compulsory for citizens of Nauru. Early voting is held for the week before elections, for Nauruans who cannot make it to the polls on election day. A proxy can be appointed if a Nauruan citizen is out of the country on election day.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://election.com.nr/for-voters/|title=For Voters|publisher=Nauru Electoral Commission|date=|accessdate=30 September 2023}}
Elections in Nauru are administered by the Nauru Electoral Commission.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/nauru/freedom-world/2022|title=Nauru|publisher=Freedom House|date=2022|accessdate=30 September 2023}} Before its founding in 2016, elections were administered by the chief secretary, a political appointment by the president.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://thecommonwealth.org/news/nauru-elections-commonwealth-brings-credibility-strengthening-democracy|title=Nauru elections: Commonwealth brings 'credibility in strengthening democracy'|publisher=Commonwealth of Nations|date=17 February 2017|accessdate=30 September 2023}}
Latest elections
{{Main|2022 Nauruan parliamentary election}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}