Cook Islands general election, 1978
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in the Cook Islands
on 30 March, 1978 to elect 22 MPs to the Parliament
. The result was a victory for the Cook Islands Party
under Albert Henry
, but it later emerged that the CIP had flown hundreds of supporters from New Zealand to the Cook Islands at public expense in order to vote. The results of the election were challenged, and the election of eight MPs was overturned by the High Court. Albert Henry was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public money and stripped of his knighthood.
Following the disqualification of Cook Islands Party
candidates, Democratic Party
leader Tom Davis became Prime Minister
.
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
on 30 March, 1978 to elect 22 MPs to the Parliament
Parliament of the Cook Islands
The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....
. The result was a victory for the Cook Islands Party
Cook Islands Party
The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....
under Albert Henry
Albert Henry
Albert Royle Henry was the first Premier of the Cook Islands. He was forced to resign from that post in a 1978 voting scandal for which he was later convicted of fraud...
, but it later emerged that the CIP had flown hundreds of supporters from New Zealand to the Cook Islands at public expense in order to vote. The results of the election were challenged, and the election of eight MPs was overturned by the High Court. Albert Henry was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public money and stripped of his knighthood.
Following the disqualification of Cook Islands Party
Cook Islands Party
The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....
candidates, Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Cook Islands)
The Democratic Party is a liberal political party in the Cook Islands. It is currently the Opposition party in the Cook Islands Parliament.-Early years:...
leader Tom Davis became Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the official rsponsible for heading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's government in the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands...
.