Voting for 24-member parliament today. Cook Island politics has been long dominated by the Democratic Party and the Cook Islands Party, with the latter led by current Prime Minister, Mark Brown. There is a new party to vote for, the United Party. The current administration, which is likely to continue in office, has directed Chinese finance towards infrastructure development. Prices of imported foods have soared in recent years, causing opposition parties to be wary of increasing Chinese investment.

Pacific Island Forum (Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Tonga and Samoa attending, with Australia and New Zealand sitting in. Other members include Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) opens with an address by US Pres Joe Biden, who urges the Federated States of Micronesia to rejoin the group, which boycotted over disagreement with the election of the Cook Islands’ Henry Puna as Secretary General, in contravention of traditional order. Fiji president Frank Bainimarama, attempted to make amends, with little success. Kausea Natano, prime minister of Tuvalu and departing chair of the PIF, points to the climate crisis as the greatest threat to the islands. It is a contentious issue for Australia, which has refused to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050. Biden commits US to net-zero emissions. Japan’s emission of polluted water from the Fukushima plant is also a concern.

Three independents join Cook Islands Party, allowing the incumbent PM Henry Puna to remain in power.

Elections in Cook Islands. The ruling Cook Islands Party, led by PM Henry Puna, loses its majority in parliament. The Democratic Party, led by Tina Browne wins eleven seats to the Cook Islands Party ten seats. The Cook Islands Movement won one seat and independents two. Browne, however, did not win her seat. Final results are due on 6/29.