2012 Kiribati presidential election
# 2012 Kiribati presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Kiribati on 13 January 2012, following two-round parliamentary elections held in October 2011. Incumbent President Anote Tong sought re-election to a third four-year term, ending months of speculation about his decision.

Tong beat Tetaua Taitai of the United Coalition Party and Rimeta Beniamina of the Maurin Kiribati Party with a little over 42% of the vote.

## Background

The elections, initially scheduled for 30 December 2011, were postponed to 13 January 2012 in order to allow citizens of the country to travel to celebrate the New Year.

## Electoral system

The president was elected by popular vote from among three or four candidates chosen by MPs, and was limited to three four-year terms under the constitution.

## Campaign

The new House of Assembly of Kiribati nominated three candidates for the presidency following the 2011 parliamentary election.

* Anote Tong, incumbent President of Kiribati since 2003, member of Pillars of Truth
* Tetaua Taitai, physician and politician, member of the United Coalition Party
* Rimeta Beniamina, former leader of the United Coalition Party and standing on behalf of the Maurin Kiribati Party

## Results

Incumbent President Anote Tong was the outright winner and re-elected as president of Kiribati, with an aggregate total of 14,315 votes or 42% of the total vote. President Tong defeated his closest challenger, Tetaui Taitai, by more than 7%, or 2,500 votes. The third challenger, Rimeta Beniamina, only received 7,738 votes. Tong was the leading candidate in 14 out of the 23 constituencies.

President Tong's percentage of the vote (42%) was much less than his 2007 re-election, when he received 64% of the popular vote.

Voter turnout was approximately 68% for the election. This was higher than the 2007 presidential elections, when voter participation was a little over 50%.

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Anote Tong | Pillars of Truth | 14,315 | 42.18 |
| | Tetaua Taitai | United Coalition Party | 11,886 | 35.02 |
| | Rimeta Beniamina | Maurin Kiribati Party | 7,738 | 22.80 |
| Total | Total | Total | 33,939 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 49,910 | – |
| Source: IFES |||||
