Polling booths open in Cook Islands

Voting has commenced in the Cook Islands, where 110,000 registered citizens will select their leaders for the next four years. Polling stations in the country opened at 9am on Wednesday morning Cook Islands time (7am Thursday NZT) and will close at 6pm. The electoral process encompasses 24 constituencies, with 10 located on the primary island of Rarotonga and the remaining 14 spread throughout the outer islands known as Pa Enua.

To form a government, a majority of 13 seats is required. A total of 63 candidates have been confirmed for the 2026 general election, a decrease from the 71 who participated in the 2022 election. This year's candidates comprise 49 men and 14 women, with independents representing 20 percent of the candidates. Should no political party secure the necessary 13 seats, the independents could wield influence over the government's formation.

One seat has already been secured this election, as Ivirua candidate Agnes Helen Armstrong from Mangaia ran uncontested as an independent. However, there has been a setback in the Northern Cooks, due to adverse weather conditions preventing electoral officers from reaching Nassau. Consequently, the island's voting has been postponed to Thursday afternoon local time.

The Cook Islands News reported a survey indicating that half of the respondents across Pa Enua and Rarotonga listed the cost of living and inflation as their primary concern. This includes issues like fuel prices, water and power bills, housing, transportation, and consumer goods. Editor Rashneel Kumar of the Cook Islands News, in conversation with Pacific Waves, attributed these concerns to global conflicts impacting resource constraints and costs, causing a ripple effect on local consumers.

Kumar emphasized that the Middle East conflict, in particular, has had an impact on small island nations like the Cook Islands.