politics of the Cook Islands

Cook Islands
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Cook Islands

Queen Elizabeth II Queen's Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE Prime Minister Jim Marurai Parliament Political parties Elections: 2006
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The politics of the Cook Islands, an associated state, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the Queen's Representative, is the Head of State; the Chief Minister is the head of government and of a pluriform multi-party system. The Islands are self-governing in free association with New Zealand and are fully responsible for internal affairs. New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent years, the Cook Islands has taken on more of its own external affairs; as of 2005, it has diplomatic relations in its own name with eighteen other countries. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Executive branch

Main office holders
Office	Name	Party	Since
Queen	Elizabeth II		6 February 1952
Queen's Representative	Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE		9 February 2001
Prime Minister	Jim Marurai	DAP	14 December 2004

The monarch is hereditary; her representative is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Cook Islands Government. The cabinet is chosen by the prime minister and collectively responsible to Parliament. Ten years of rule by the Cook Islands Party (CIP) came to an end 18 November 1999 with the resignation of Prime Minister Joe Williams. Williams had led a minority government since October 1999 when the New Alliance Party (NAP) left the government coalition and joined the main opposition Democratic Party (DAP). On 18 November 1999, DAP leader Dr. Terepai Maoate was sworn in as prime minister. He was succeeded by his co-partisan Robert Woonton. When Dr Woonton lost his seat in the 2004 elections, Jim Marurai took over.

Following uncertainty about the ability of the government to maintain its majority, the Queen's representative dissolved parliament mid-way through its term and a 'snap' election was held on 26 September 2006. Jim Marurai's Democratic Party retained the Treasury benches with an increased majority. The New Zealand High Commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government.

Legislative branch

The parliament building of the Cook Islands, formerly a hotel.

The Parliament of the Cook Islands has 24 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies.

Political parties and elections

For other political parties see List of political parties in the Cook Islands. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the Cook Islands.

Summary of the 26 September 2006 Cook Islands Parliament of the Cook Islands election results |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top width=420|Parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats |- |align=left|Democratic Party |align="right" |4,420 |align="right" |52% |align="right" |15 |- |align=left|Cook Islands Party |align="right" |3,846 |align="right" |45.3% |align="right" |7 |- |align=left|Independents |align="right" |231 |align="right" |2.7% |align="right" |1 |- |align=left|Tied seat |align="right" |- |align="right" |- |align="right" |1 |- |align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total |width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 8,497 |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|84.4 |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|24 |- |colspan=4|Source: Final results of the Cook Islands election 2006 |}

International organization participation

See also: Cook Islands Diplomatic Missions

AsDB, ESCAP (associate), FAO, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

External links

Constitution of the Cook Islands and amendments

Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
Members	Australia · Cook Islands · Fiji · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Nauru · New Zealand · Niue · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Samoa · Solomon Islands · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu
Associate members	French Polynesia · New Caledonia
Observers	Tokelau · East Timor (special observer)

Politics of Oceania
Australasia	Australia · Norfolk Island · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · New Zealand
Melanesia	East Timor¹ · Fiji · Indonesia¹ · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu
Micronesia	Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Northern Mariana Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · Palau
Polynesia	American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna
¹ countries spanning more than one continent

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