12:35 PM |
Tuvalu completes voting in national elections
Updated
Voting has now closed in Tuvalu's national election held today. Around six thousand people, out of a population of nearly 11 thousand registered to vote this year on the 15 seats in national parliament.
Incumbent Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia has held the office since the last election in 2006, in what has been described as a period of unprecedented political stability on the island nation. But that does not mean Mr Ielemia will not face a challenge.
Last year Tuvalu gained world attention for its strong advocacy of taking global action on climate change. This is a position driven by the fact that it is already feeling the impact of rising sea levels, and that issue was the focus of most of the 26 candidates contesting this poll.
But with a small, religious and conservative population, that issue was not enough to drive the candidates to campaign in an openly combative way.
Presenter: Pacific Correspondent Campbell Cooney
Speaker: Silafaga Lalua from Radio Tuvalu
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LALUA: No it's very different here in Tuvalu, it is not like what we see on TV and all that with candidates being very loud about their campaigning. On Radio Tuvalu, have been running programs there that we bring in these candidates and giving them time to talk on Radio Tuvalu and for them to tell us what their promises are, what they're campaigning for, and that's just about it. That was the only bit of public speaking that they had in terms of campaigning, but apart from that, if then the candidate campaigning through their family in their own home which the public don't know about.
COONEY: Fifteen seats in parliament, 26 candidates contesting those seats. Is there an expectation that there will be some changes?
LALUA: Oh, there is a general feeling around now Campbell as far as it has come through to our attention. There is a lot of new faces competing right now for the seat in parliament and most of them are very interesting as well. I see some first timers in politics and they have been serving as civil servants of the government, with the Tuvalu government for a long time. It's almost automatically we are favourites of the public here.
COONEY: What about a challenge to the prime minister, is it expected that he will retain his seat or retain his prime ministership? Has there been any indications on this at this early stage?
LALUA: According to what he said last night on Radio Tuvalu, the prime minister said he wanted to continue what he has started, all the development and all the projects he has started in the government, he wanted to continue.
COONEY: Amongst these new candidates that are coming up, whose the one you think would be the most interesting?
LALUA: Emele Sopoaga is a former permanent representative to the UN mission and he retired last month as a permanent secretary in the government, in the communications and transport ministry. He says there is a big chance of being in government and being in the prime minister's seat.
COONEY: Polling closed for today. Did it go well, no problems around the country as far as voting went?
LALUA: Polling has stopped yes, a few minutes ago and counting has begun and yes elections, the polling went well, no problem was encountered the whole day, except for one island they had a bit of a misunderstanding there, but that was early on in the day, so that was okay. But otherwise, everything went smoothly throughout the day yah..
COONEY: Have they given an indication of when they expect counting to finish?
LALUA: Secretary of the government said that he's hoping for everything to finish by midnight.
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aotearoa, new zealand
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